Today, the heating sector is not on track toward achieving the IEA Net-Zero targets: it represents more than a third of the energy demand and it mainly relies on fossil fuels. District heating is recognized as a major solution allowing decarbonization of the heating sector. The integration of large-scale seasonal energy storage, compensating for the mismatch between supply and demand whilst ensuring the service, is key for a wide spread of district heating. USES4HEAT aims to demonstrate innovative, large-scale, seasonal thermal energy storage solutions enabling a future decarbonized and reliable heating supply. USES4HEAT demonstrates, at TRL8 and for a one-year test campaign, two innovative, cost-effective, large-scale, seasonal underground TES units to maximize the availability and resilience of heating supply while reducing energy losses and environmental impact. USES4HEAT seeks to demonstrate the storages as fully integrated units in commercial large-scale district heating networks and industrial waste heat recovery and fulfilling industrial thermal demand. In doing so, USES4HEAT also demonstrates six innovative key enabling components/technologies and their integration with seasonal storages: advanced drilling equipment and remotely controlled machines halving drilling times, innovative layered high-temperature borehole pipes, efficient groundwater heat pumps integrated with aquifer storages, hybrid solar panels and thermal solar collector, and accurate AI-based energy management tools. USES4HEAT will systematically demonstrate the effectiveness and techno-economic-social viability of innovative, large-scale, seasonal energy storages ensuring limited CAPEX, reduced environmental impact and energy losses, efficient integration in district heating and accumulation of various sources of heat, and granting reliable and decarbonized heating supply.

The LEGOFIT project aims to design, implement and validate an advanced and dynamic integrative approach to accomplish EPH based on smart and innovative solutions with a high scalability and replicability for building construction and renovation, through: i) developing an innovative holistic design platform that encompass not only passive and active technologies but also their integration for smartest exchange of information and interoperability of systems based on Building Information Modelling (BIM), available for both professionals and end-users, ii) integrating active and passive strategies (e.g. envelope, HVAC systems, integrated solutions, including nature based solutions, etc.) with smart management technologies (BAS, BMS) for climate neutral and high energy building performance providing maximum flexibility to users iii) investigating innovative routes for promoting minimum environmental impacts by the smart use of solid and liquid residues generated during building life cycle stages and iv) fostering sustainable stock of buildings by guaranteeing not only the fulfilment of sustainable criteria (economic, social, environmental) but also according to the enhancement of smart readiness of buildings. This innovative and integrated approach is demonstrated in 3+ demos across a range of geographical, cultural and construction stages/technological market maturity scenarios. The building typology focus is the residential sector, multifamily houses and dormitories, including both new and existing constructions. The involvement of professionals in the sector is ensured through the development of a community of stakeholders and an open innovation community for Building Energy System (BES) professionals. Training courses focused on the new positive energy house approaches will ensure a new generation of multidisciplinary team of experts on the topic.