Hydraulic integration of an HT-ATES in the Rotterdam Nesselande heating network
The three-year innovation program WarmingUP has shown that collective sustainable heating systems are technically and socially feasible in the Netherlands. However, heating the urban environment with sustainable sources requires new infrastructures and regulations. Nearly 60 parties from around the world have provided new knowledge, instruments and techniques for future heating systems within WarmingUP. This includes high-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage (HT-ATES) systems for which residual heat with storage temperatures up to 90°C can be stored seasonally in the subsurface.
In THEME 5 of the WarmingUP program, Deltares and Eneco evaluated different dispatch strategies to integrate an HT-ATES in the Rotterdam Nesselande heating network. This includes the analysis of stationary and operational control scenarios for the optimal dispatch of the HT-ATES with the WANDA software.
Using the WANDA Heat module
Deltares’ hydraulic researchers set up the thermal-hydraulic models of the Nesselande network with and without HT-ATES using the WANDA Heat module. This module allows you to model pipeline systems for which temperature and heat loss play an important role in heating networks. The researchers verified the WANDA model without HT-ATES using several reference scenarios for which hourly demand, temperature and pressure data were provided by Eneco.
Less CO2 emissions of the HT-ATES
Furthermore, (in)direct savings (i.e., capacity, pump energy and CO2 emissions) in the transport network have been quantified for the 10th year that the HT-ATES would be in operation. For this, Deltares simulated the operational management of the Nesselande network in WANDA for the current situation without HT-ATES and the future situation with HT-ATES. This includes diverse ways in which the HT-ATES can be deployed during the discharge period (i.e., maximum use or only when gas boiler and/or other fossil energy sources can be substituted).
The specific CO2 emissions of the HT-ATES (calculated for the current electricity mix) are approximately 20 kg CO2/GJ for year 10, which is considerably less than the current specific CO2 emissions of Nesselande without HT-ATES (52 kg CO2 /GJ) or of a central heating boiler (63 kg CO2 /GJ). In addition, Deltares calculated the extra pump energy required for the integration of the HT-ATES considering the variable pump speeds and efficiencies.
Report of the study
Deltares and Eneco published the result of this study in a report (in Dutch) that can be found on the WarmingUP website. This report provides other consortium partners and interested parties with insight into the technical challenges involved in integrating HT-ATES systems into heating networks.
