Ennatuurlijk uses a Digital Twin to optimise their heating system
Challenge
The mission of Ennatuurlijk is to speed up the transformation to local and sustainable energy in the Netherlands and they strive to be 100% carbon neutral by 2040.
Ennatuurlijk is a district heating company in the Netherlands with 62 district heating networks that deliver more than 5.300.000 GJ heat every year to 85.000 households. The mission of Ennatuurlijk is to speed up the transformation to local and sustainable energy in the Netherlands and they strive to be 100% carbon neutral by 2040. Two of their heat grids have been awarded; one the most innovative and the other one the most sustainable grid.
Solution
Ennatuurlijk partnered with Gradyent to make a Digital Twin of their heating network and optimise it.
The Digital Twin creates a detailed and realistic physical view of the network that is updated constantly with smart sensor data, source data and forecasts. It finds the optimum balance between flow and temperature and thereby ensures that minimal energy is wasted, customers get the required amount of heat and the heat-pumps operate optimally.
By developing a Digital Twin with Gradyent, we aim to gain more insights in the network. These insights help us with optimising the heat pumps and strategically placing a buffer. It also helps us to understand the influence of customer-side installations on the efficiency of our network. With this understanding we can utilise the available heat to a maximum, together with our customers.
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Results
Ennatuurlijk found optimisation potential through the Digital Twin
David Berghuis, Senior Asset Manager at Ennatuurlijk Hengelo: "The nice thing about working with Gradyent is that you work together. We found several ways for optimisations from the Digital Twin. We can then see if it fits within the limits of the network. I think that is working as a team."