The HEAT-INSYDE consortium met for its 10th General Assembly in the Tricity of Poland, consisting of three contiguous coastal cities Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Sopot, on December 7-8th. Hosted by the project partner FASADA, representatives from the project’s 19 partners (13 in-person and 6 online) from industry and academia met for two days of productive and intense exchange. During the two-day meeting, the consortium members presented their latest progress, discussed the challenges to meet the ambitious final stage of the project, and were also accompanied on a guided tour to the Polish demonstration site.
After a warm welcome from Agnieszka Lukaszewska (FASADA), the HEAT-INSYDE coordinator Olaf Adan (TNO) opened the floor emphasizing the important phase the project is now in: “We are already in the crucial phase of showing that we can bring the technology to the market. The purpose of this meeting is not only about discussing but also about agreeing on the pending points as we have 11 months to make sure that all the demo sites will be running accordingly”
The first day focused on discussing the progress in all aspects of the project, with presentations ranging from the communication and exploitation of the project’s outreach to the plans for the delivery and installation of the heat battery over the coming months at three very different sites across Europe. The current status of the HEAT-INSYDE batteries and the plans for the so-called demonstration sites, in the Netherands, France and Poland, where the heat battery is being installed to be tested in real-life conditions formed the key point of discussions.
Second part of the day was dedicated to visiting demonstration site in Gdynia which is a social housing building owned by the Municipality of Gdynia. Consortium members had the opportunity to see installed photovoltaics installation and air-water heat pump. On the demonstration site consortium members met with the representatives of Energy department of the Gdynia City Hall i.e. Hanna Górecka-Banasik (Head of Energy department), Bożena Żuławska and Alicja Szczepańska. Since 2014, Gdynia’s Energy Department has been at the forefront of energy sustainability. Committed to a greener future, they provide grants for citizen investments in renewables, striving to eliminate solid fuel boilers. Through impactful projects, the Energy Department leads the way in promoting energy efficiency and environmental education in Gdynia.
During the site visit the working principle of heat storage system was explained by FASADA, whose focus this year has been on preparing this demonstration site for the installation of a heat battery prototype. The house is now prepared for the concluding phase of installation, eagerly looking forward to incorporating the heat storage component. Now everybody is looking forward to installing the heat storage system and validating its performance.
After the visit, into the later afternoon, crucial discussions on topics as follows were covered: fixed bed reactors, IP landscaping analysis, updates on amendments, progress with deliverables and milestones and insurance for demos and pilots.
The second-day meeting created the ideal opportunity to recap the discussions based on the previous day and follow-up on specific topics such as the technical details to ensure the heat batteries can function at their best and the plans for easy installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting are ready. Additionally, the coordinator highlighted the last steps that the consortium must apply not only to have all these technical topics covered but also to follow an accurate strategy for the upcoming communication and dissemination activities considering the huge impact it will have in this final stage of the project, which requires considerable accuracy and excellent team collaboration, which the consortium is striving to sustain.
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