In this blog I want to share the example of the city of Amsterdam to highlight how successfully decarbonising heat will mean using a range of technologies & energy vectors, targeted based on a local approach to planning. Thus far in the heating transition this approach has been far from the norm, but it looks like things could be starting to change.
An orange blueprint to make heating green
heat heating heat in Europe heat research Amsterdam
It’s almost 13 years since I first immersed myself in understanding the heating market, and began supporting Europe’s biggest energy suppliers and HVAC companies in navigating the heating transition. 2020 seems like a good time to reflect on what’s changed since then and consider what the next decade could bring.
Thirteen years ago I had just completed a PhD quantifying the impact of climate change on Icelandic glaciers – and predicting how these impacts would play out in future decades. The impact of continued warming – and the need for urgent action to stop it – was painfully clear. This desire to solve the climate crisis was of course what drove me to the energy industry. The science of climate change was clear – now to tackle action and adaptation. I focused in very quickly on heat, as one of the most critical (if most challenging) parts of energy consumption to decarbonise.
heat heating heat in Europe decarbonise heat heating transition
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