District heating networks – hot water pipes running below the ground – supply millions of homes in cities across Europe, representing about 10% of the EU’s heat market. Recent global events, such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, have put the spotlight on the importance of the security of heat supply for those networks, and the importance of investments needed in the sector in order to meet EU climate goals.

While the broader process of transformation of the large-scale district heating sector has accelerated in recent years, there are still questions on the trajectory of these changes. For example, from the industry’s perspective, any provision that conditions the applicability of a particular technology or fuel has a huge impact on the overall investment processes carried out within individual district heating systems.

According to a report conducted by the Polish Association of Professional Combined Heat and Power Plants (PTEZ), the next challenge for effective fulfilment of the decarbonization goals under the “Fit for 55” Package will be to implement the provisions of the most relevant directives into national law. This is particularly important for a country such as Poland, where the market for district heating systems is one of the largest in the EU, mainly due to climatic conditions in correlation with high urbanization.

Listen to Euractiv's Hybrid Conference to discuss district heating and its role in helping to meet EU’s ambitious climate goals. Questions to be discussed include:

- How is the “Fit for 55” Package concretely addressing district heating?
- What are the costs foreseen for the transformation of the sector? And what are the scenarios and technology options for the transformation of district heating systems of different sizes?
- What is the timeline for the implementation of the directives under “Fit for 55”? How are different Member States planning to incorporate the regulations into national legislation?