Eneco and water board De Stichtse Rijnlanden are developing largest heat pump in the Netherlands

Today, Eneco and water board De Stichtse Rijnlanden signed an agreement to work together on the development of a heat pump on the site of De Stichtse Rijnlanden's water treatment installation in Utrecht. With a capacity of 25 MW, it will be the largest heat pump in the Netherlands. After completion in 2021, the heat pump will provide sufficient heating to cover 10% of the total consumption of the district heating network in Utrecht.

Constantijn Jansen op de Haar, alderman of water board De Stichtse Rijnlanden: "Warm tap water, water used by dishwashers and shower water raise the temperature of the waste water that enters our facility. Even in cold winters, the treated waste water has a temperature of around 12 degrees celsius. At present, this heat drains away. By making part of our site available to Eneco, they can build a heat pump close to the source. This way, the least amount of heat will be lost and the residual heat can be used to contribute to improving sustainability in the area."

Eneco is proud of this cooperation with De Stichtse Rijnlanden. Michiel van den Berg, director Heat & Industrials at Eneco: "Businesses and public institutions both play an important role in the improvement of sustainability in the Netherlands. Working together is essential for a successful energy transition. This is a good example. Using the residual heat of the treated waste water brings us a step closer to making district heating in Utrecht fully sustainable."

The ambition of the municipality of Utrecht is to be climate neutral as soon as possible By improving the sustainability of its district heating network, Eneco contributes significantly to the achievement of this ambition. Councillor Lot van Hooijdonk: "The municipality is very pleased that Eneco and water board De Stichtse Rijnlanden are taking advantage of the opportunity to extract heat from the treated waste water. This is a significant step toward eliminating the need for natural gas in Utrecht's district heating network."