The project will be an important element in DTU's continued development of leading digital green solutions, says Professor Henrik Madsen.
Denmark is strongly represented in a new large EU-supported climate and digitalization project, ARV. Here, six Danish partners - including DTU represented by DTU Compute and DTU Civil Engineering - will test new digital solutions and technology for regulating district heating in 432 public housing and locally in the district heating network in Sønderborg. Along the way, the partners will also take advantage of the flexibility across different energy systems.
ARV with 35 partners from seven countries will develop and demonstrate energy and climate-friendly solutions in local urban communities, for the benefit of future generations.
The project has received the EU Commission's grant of 20 million euros (approximately 150 million Danish kroner) from the EU's Green Deal, where ARV won in fierce competition with 115 other applications. It is expected that the ARV project will make a significant contribution to the EU's goal of reducing energy in buildings by 50-55% without compromising comfort.
Green growth in Denmark and globally
DTU Civil Engineering and DTU Compute are experts in the use of data from sensors and artificial intelligence to optimize energy consumption in buildings and utilize the flexibility of the energy network. In ARV, DTU, together with the other partners, will use digital solutions to predict the temperature demand in the local district heating network based on expected consumption in the buildings. Likewise, the local weather forecast will be used to bring flexibility into play in the energy systems.
Professor Henrik Madsen says the ARV project will be an important element in DTU’s continued development of leading digital green solutions:
"Digital solutions are the key to efficient and scalable technological solutions as a continuation of development and testing in Sønderborg with their ProjectZero CO2 vision in 2029 will be replicated in other smart cities and regions around the world. Thus, the collaboration under the ARV project will contribute to increased green growth in Denmark and accelerate the green transition globally."
"Thus, the collaboration under the ARV project will contribute to increased green growth in Denmark and accelerate the green transition globally."
Henrik Madsen, Professor at DTU Compute
The Danish digital energy hub to handle all ARV data
Center Denmark, the national digital hub for intelligent energy systems, in Fredericia will play a key role in ARV. The partners from Norway, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, and Denmark have each designated a demonstration city with a project from which to collect energy data. All data will be collected and handled on Center Denmark's digital platform (data lake), where the partners will have access to each other's data.
"New solutions in the green transition, and in ARV, will be data-driven, and it is our role to ensure easy access to this data. Through digital solutions, we will accelerate the green transition towards 100% renewable energy and fulfillment of climate goals. And we see the ARV project as an opportunity for Center Denmark to become a leading EU digitalization hub for data management with smart, scalable, climate-friendly solutions," says director Søren Skov Bording.
In Sønderborg, Mayor Erik Lauritzen is happy because the ARV demonstration project fits perfectly into the municipality's ambitions to connect the energy systems. It will also bring the housing associations to the forefront in the climate area:
“EU projects have for many years provided us with valuable knowledge, international relations, strong university and partner competencies, and finances to realize the ProjectZero vision. I'm sure this project will be no exception."
- ARV has 35 partners in seven countries; Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and Spain. NTNU, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, is leading the project.
- ARV is establishing six demo projects in six cities to explore how to create climate-positive circular communities for the benefit of the climate and current and future generations.
- Through innovative digital tools and the use of data, ARV will connect residents' participation, buildings, and the energy system to take advantage of the flexibility of the energy system.
- ARV also has to develop and test energy-efficient and circular solutions for and in the construction industry and provide proposals for guidelines and policy frameworks that will accelerate energy renovations.
- ARV will work with circular economy through automated use of life cycle analysis, LCA, digital logbooks, and material banks.
- The solutions must be easy to understand and use by all stakeholders, from manufacturers to end-users, just as the solutions must be scalable so that they can be used elsewhere. The results will also be shared with other social housing companies in Europe.
- The ARV project has received a grant of 20 million euros in support from the EU's Green Deal, approximately DKK 150 million - of which approximately DKK 21.5 million goes to the Danish partners.
- The ARV project is named after the Norwegian word ‘arv’, which means "legacy" or "heritage".
- The ARV project runs from 1 January 2022 to ultimo 2025.