Commissioned by Interleuven, HoCoSto will realize a collective heat system at the innovative Keiberg-Vossem business park in Tervuren, Belgium. This in cooperation with Canalco, the Belgian infra partner providing the underground piping for the heat network.
Objective
The objective is to make business park Keiberg-Vossem a (nearly) self-sufficient plot with the lowest possible impact on the electricity grid. Therefore, from a communal management point of view, local generation, local storage & local use of energy on the ‘own’ site of about 7 hectares is employed. To make this possible, Keiberg-Vossem focuses on smart infrastructure and energy management.
Modular energy hub
The thermal storage energy hub will initially be used to heat and cool five office buildings in the courtyard. Thanks to the modular system, it is possible to connect the 15 properties still to be newly built to the thermal energy hub at a later date. The heat demand of the total site is 1GWh-th/year with a peak capacity of about 875 kW-th. The cooling demand of the total site is 1GWh-th/year, with significantly higher peak capacity of 1.7 GW. This is caused by a number of manufacturing plants with a considerable amount of low-grade waste heat from the primary process, which is available year-round.
Multisource
To achieve the objective, a combination of energy sources was chosen:
- Thermal generation with solar collectors for heat production without the use of electricity.
- Residual heat from cooling lines. Much of it is available year-round.
- An industrial heat pump for smart use of off-peak electricity grid. A system of active cooling and passive heating is set up which, on balance, purchases minimal electrical power.
- 150 kW-peak PV panels to provide needed energy for active cooling in summer.
Storage
Storage for five office buildings is 1,300 m3 of seasonal storage and 85 m3 of peak storage. A combination of peak and seasonal storage was chosen. This is because energy generation through solar panels, while providing a high percentage of self-sufficiency, has the stumbling block of not having enough production during the winter months. For this reason, it relies on HoCoSto’s buffer technology, which stores thermal energy in the summer and releases it in the winter. Heat from storage combined with waste heat from manufacturing plants covers the entire heat demand.
Quadruple use of space
Heat storage (1) is placed under a parking lot(2). This also serves as a loading plaza(3). A structure will be placed above the parking lot for the collectors(4).
Energy Management
- DC charging infrastructure for electric mobility
- Energy management system: thermal and electrical power control
Distribution
The heat grid distributes 45-degree water with a return temperature of 30 degrees or less.
Tap water use in the buildings is zero, which is why an LTV network was chosen.
The cold network delivers 12-degree water to the connections. The return is a minimum of 18 degrees, but can and may go higher when residual heat is imported.
