The EU-funded Interreg North Sea Programme Project, WaterWarmth, aims to accelerate the shift to sustainable energy use through collective surface water heat pump systems. The project focuses on heating and cooling buildings using water energy. The water source can be public drinking water and wastewater, or surface water like rivers, seashores and lakes. This technique for heating and cooling is called aquathermal energy.
Lessons learned from pilot projects
In a new report, the project presents lessons learned from nine local pilot projects in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Denmark. The report explores how innovation and governance, meaning decision-making and rules, support the success and growth of pilot projects. It draws on insights from the nine pilots to highlight lessons that can help future initiatives thrive.
One finding is how learning within the pilot projects occurs in mainly three ways. The first is by involving local people and listening to their thoughts and experiences. The second is through co-creation with citizens. The third is learning directly from other earlier pilots.
Four pilots had not defined a clear vision - five had. Additionally, networking proved essential for attracting the right stakeholders, securing external backing, and strengthening internal support within organisations and municipalities. This internal support can then positively impact regional policies and planning.
Finally, governance and regulation varied across the nine pilots. In certain regions, national or local climate policies, such as bans on natural gas, helped advance aquathermal energy projects. However, many regulatory hurdles remain, including issues with permitting systems, and must be resolved.
Digging into the data
To provide a fuller understanding of each pilot in this report, a mixed-methods approach was applied involving multiple research techniques. The research methods included detailed case studies, interviews with project leaders, and interactive workshops to gather data.
The report used three key theories from earlier work. The first was the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP), a theory that looks at how new systems grow while interacting with existing ones. The second theory, Strategic Niche Management (SNM), focuses on how small-scale, early innovations are supported and improved. This theory received particular attention due to its application in small-scale pilots of aquathermal energy. It was employed to understand how expectations are shaped, how networks are built, and how people and groups learn during the process. The final theory, Governance Arrangements (GA), examines the role of government, policies, rules, and authority.
