Where Europe’s heat transition becomes reality!
| What you will take home: 👉What works and what doesn’t from real pilots 👉 Financing strategies for district heating 👉 Explore aquathermal energy in practice 👉 New connections with European experts and cities 👉 Tools you can apply immediately | Who should attend: 👤 Cities & municipalities 👤 Policy makers 👤 Energy professionals 👤 Consultants & engineers 👤 Researchers |
Programme and timetable event
9.30 – 10.15 | Walk in with coffee
10.15 – 10.25 | Opening by Barry Ness
| Barry Ness is an associate professor in Sustainability Science and the director of LUCSUS. His research focuses on both understanding and promoting sustainable societal change through collaborative methods. Barry is working within the project on the vision and roadmap for large-scale implementation of aquatheral energy towards 2050. A sustainable, affordable, and community-driven energy system in which local, non-commercial cooperatives manage decentralized yet interconnected heating networks. |  |
10.25 – 10.45 | Keynote: Energy communities in the heat transition
Achille Hannoset is a policy and legal officer at EU DG Energy. He works in DG ENER's unit for Consumers, Local Initiatives and Just transition. Achille is part of the team following up on the implementation of the Electricity Market Directive, Gas Market Directive and the more recent Electricity Market Design reform. He is responsible for topics related to citizen engagement, consumer empowerment and retail markets. Discover how energy communities are shaping the future of sustainable heating in Europe. In this keynote, you’ll learn how European policy supports local initiatives and empowers communities to produce, share, and use heat more sustainably. |  |
10.45 – 11.15 | Panel session: Aquathermal energy as Europe’s source for heating and cooling
Experts from across Europe discuss the growing role of aquathermal energy in the heat transition. Join this conversation on collaboration, innovation, and the opportunities for scaling up sustainable energy solutions across borders.
11.15 – 11.45 | Coffee break
11.45 – 12.30 | Parallel breakout sessions: round 1
Session 1: Lessons learned from piloting with aquathermal energy Jade Santier is a project coordinator and works on various European projects. For WaterWarmth, she is leading the real-life pilots. In Normandy, she is in charge of the Ouistreham pilot, where seawater is used as the heat source. In this session, you can learn from her findings. Explore real-life pilot projects from the WaterWarmth programme. Learn about the successes, challenges, and practical lessons from testing aquathermal solutions in different environments and different surface water. |
Session 2: Financing district heating Sam Lanckriet, Griet Juwet, and Maarten Meijer are all working on the RODEO project. In this session, they will teach you more about the financial side of a project. Discover how innovative financing models can support sustainable district heating systems. This session shares early insights and experiences from the RODEO project to help cities turn ideas into real investments.
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Session 3: Germany’s aquathermal energy potential Christian Wolff works at the German company FluSeeQ, which focuses on the utilization of thermal potentials of surface waters through heat extraction using resilient regulation and new technology for source tapping. Gain insights from cutting-edge research in Germany. This session presents new findings on waterbody modelling, technology development, and regulatory aspects of aquathermal energy.
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Session 4: Model of predictive control for energy systems explained Nicolas Langlois and Nassima Ouali ar both experts in control system theory and real-world applications at Esigelec Irseem France. Learn how predictive control models can optimise heating systems. Through interactive simulations, participants will see how different strategies influence system performance and costs.
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Session 5: Water Authorities in transition Denise Winters is a policy advisor at the Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier, and Joep van Doornik is a programme coordinator at the Unie van Waterschappen. They both work on the Interreg NWE ResNRJwater project and the Versnellingsagenda Aquathermie programme. Explore how water authorities are turning aquathermal energy into practical solutions for heating and cooling. Learn from real projects and collaborations driving the heat transition forward.
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12.30 – 13.15 | Networking lunch
13.15 – 13.45 | Panel Session 2 – The Impact of the Energy Transition on Communities
The energy transition affects more than technology—it impacts people and communities. This panel explores how local communities can actively shape a fair and inclusive energy future. | Panel: Nthabiseng Mohlakoana, researcher at Delft University of Technology Durkje Zijlstra, project leader for Frisian Energy Table Alexis Chamzipiros, international coordinator for Samso Energiakademi Catherin Smyth, development manager for Ballyhoura Development Moderator: Barry Ness, director of LUCSUS Lund University |
13.45 – 13.55 | Short break
13.55 – 14.40 | Parallel breakout sessions: round 2
Session 1: Serious district heating game Lucie Fauvin, project manager at SPLBER, and Andries Metz, policy advisor for the Province of Fryslân, are working on the sister project AquaCOM. Play along with them in this session! Experience district heating through an interactive game. Work together to design a heating network, overcome challenges, and discover how technical and economic decisions shape real projects. |
| Session 2: Discovering the potential of aquathermal energy "A successful project starts with a successful feasibility study" Learn how to assess whether aquathermal energy is suitable for your building, neighbourhood, or city. Discover tools and methods that help evaluate feasibility and impact. Lenn Coussement from Extraqt is an expert in feasibility studies. He knows when to go and when to stop. |  |
Session 3: Upscaling district heating from local action to European strategy Explore how Danish expertise and Dutch ambitions come together to advance district heating solutions. This workshop shares practical lessons from cross-border collaboration. Hanne Kortegaard Stockhel, project developer at the Danish Board of District Heating, and Michiel de Wit, process manager for the Municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân, know each other from the CONFIDENCE project. The Netherlands and Denmark are collaborating to work on district heating. |
Session 4: Planning Heat-Sharing Energy Communities Discover the first steps in building heat-sharing energy communities. Learn how to analyse buildings, identify heat sources, and use new tools to design effective heat networks. by Monika Krasteva, researcher/engineer and Björn Delarue, researcher. Both fromt Howest Kortrijk BE.
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Session 5: Engaging stakeholders in the heat transition Discover effective ways to involve stakeholders in planning and implementing sustainable heating solutions. By Charlotte Pauline Winkler, Bremerhaven from project: Interreg Baltic Sea PlanHeat |
14.40 – 15.05 | Coffee break
15.05 – 15.50 | Parallel breakout sessions: round 3
Session 1: Closed loop aquathermal energy Sebastian Baes, co-owner of EXTRAQT, Project: Interreg NWE AquaCOM is an expert on potantial studies and district heating. Discover real examples of closed-loop aquathermal systems and learn how this technology can support sustainable heating solutions. |
Session 2: Visioning aquathermal energy for future Europe Explore future pathways for aquathermal energy in the North Sea Region and discuss strategies for scaling up adoption across Europe. |
Session 3: Data driven heat planning See how data and digital tools can support municipalities in planning effective heat solutions and identifying opportunities for sustainable energy systems. By Antje Schurmans, energy broker for the Province of Antwerp of Project: Green4Heat |
Session 4: Upscaling district heating from local action to European strategy Learn how international collaboration and practical experiences can accelerate the development of affordable district heating systems. Hanne Kortegaard Stockhel, project developer for Danish Board of District Heating and Michiel de Wit, process manager for the Municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân |
Session 5: Serious district heating game Experience district heating through an interactive game. Work together to design a heating network, overcome challenges, and discover how technical and economic decisions shape real projects. |
15.50 – 16.00 | Short break
16.00 – 16.15 | Closing panel: takeaways for tomorrow
Join the closing discussion where speakers reflect on the key insights of the day. Together we will highlight lessons learned, answer questions, and look ahead to future collaboration.
16.15 – 17.00 | Networking drinks
End the day with networking drinks. Relax, continue the conversations, and connect with fellow participants while reflecting on the ideas and inspiration from the event.
Whole day | Project showroom
Find out who else is working on sustainable energy. Connect and expand your network. The Project Showroom is a lively exhibition space where several inspiring projects present their work. Visit the stands during the breaks to discover innovative ideas, exchange experiences, and connect with project teams. From the walk-in coffee to the networking drinks, this is the place to explore solutions, meet peers, and spark new collaborations.
After more than 3 years of working on aquathermal energy with WaterWarmth, we want to share what we have achieved. Aquathermal energy is a source with a lot of potential for a transition to sustainable heating, but it is little known. Time to change that! At the same time, we see that many more organisations and projects in the field are working on sustainable heat, heat networks and energy communities. We therefore organise a joint event together with all these projects and organisations.
For whom
This event is for everyone who is committed to a sustainable and just heat transition. So if you are a policymaker, consultant, project leader, manager, researcher or any other position in the heat transition, you are very welcome!
Where and when Carnotstraat 4 Antwerp, Belgium
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Your Own Project in the Spotlight
Sign up for the project showroom in the registration form below. The Project Showroom is a lively exhibition space where 10–15 inspiring projects present their work. This is a great opportunity to present your own project to the attendees and to network. You are welcome to bring your own promotional materials; we will provide a high table and a project board (84,1 x 118,9 cm). During lunch and the closing reception, there will be a perfect opportunity for attendees to walk past and learn more about the projects.
Register here: