Global honors spotlight district energy projects advancing decarbonization, efficiency, and climate resilience

The International District Energy Association (IDEA) and Euroheat & Power today announced the winners of the 2025 Global District Energy Climate Awards (GDECA), honoring district energy projects that advance decarbonization, efficiency, and climate resiliency. Recipients were recognized during the 9th edition of the awards ceremony at IDEA’s CampusEnergy2026 conference.

GDECA recognizes cities, communities, and campuses worldwide for excellence in sustainable heating and cooling solutions. Supported by the International Energy Agency (IEA), IEA DHC Technology Collaboration Programme, UN Environment Programme, International District Energy Association (IDEA), Asia Pacific Urban Energy Association (APUEA), and Euroheat & Power, the biennial awards highlight innovative projects reducing carbon footprints.

The awards are open to owners, operators, communities, and organizations, with categories focusing on new, existing, and innovative projects, and serve as a premier global benchmark for environmental excellence, encouraging the adoption of sustainable district energy worldwide. Past winners have demonstrated significant reductions in emissions through technologies like geothermal, river-water cooling, and waste heat recovery.

“The Global District Energy Climate Awards shine a spotlight on practical, proven projects that help communities reduce emissions while improving energy resilience, infrastructure, and long-term affordability,” said Rob Thornton, president and CEO of IDEA. “These winners demonstrate how modern thermal networks can integrate new technologies with low-carbon resources and how quickly those solutions can be replicated when organizations collaborate.”

“The Global District Energy Climate Awards represent a powerful example of international collaboration for a more sustainable future, which is much needed in our fragmented world,” said Aksana Krasatsenka, Knowledge Transfer Director at Euroheat & Power and GDECA coordinator. “It is inspiring to see winners from across the globe—from North America to Europe and Asia—leading on the heat transition and climate action.”

IDEA and Euroheat & Power are pleased to share additional details about this year’s GDECA-winning projects.

Modernization – Award of Excellence
Awarded to: Vatajankoski for their project, “Kankaanpää District Heating Network Modernization, Towards Autonomous District Heating in Kankaanpää, Finland.”

About the project: The modernization of the Kankaanpää district heating network, led by Vatajankoski, represents a groundbreaking achievement in sustainable energy solutions. Key advancements include Finland’s first digital twin platform, the world’s first sand battery, and new e-boilers and heat buffers.

The results: This district heating network covered 100% of the city’s district heating market with a delivery reliability of 99.94% in 2024, and the area saw a 72% reduction in carbon emissions achieved between 2019 and 2024.

Modernization – Certificate of Merit
Awarded to: Warmtenet NoordWest for their project, “Warmtenet NoordWest in Groningen, Netherlands.”

About the project: WarmteStad’s 4^th-generation district heating network aims to replace natural gas in 27,000 homes by 2035, with 60% of heat currently produced sustainably. They are on track to reach these goals as the network is powered by a resilient mix of sustainable sources: waste heat from data centers, one of the world’s largest solar thermal parks, and a seasonal underground heat storage facility that captures summer heat for winter use.

The results: By combining technical innovation, public ownership, and strong community engagement, WarmteStad is not just replacing fossil fuels. It is building a smarter, fairer, and more sustainable urban energy system that puts people and planet first.

Sector Coupling – Award of Excellence
Awarded to: Enwave for their project, “Enwave Toronto District Energy System – The Well in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.”

About the project: The Well is a major mixed-use development in downtown Toronto featuring an 8-million-liter Thermal Energy Storage (TES) tank located below parking level six. The TES acts as a thermal battery, charging at night during low demand and discharging during the day to reduce strain on Toronto’s congested electrical grid.

The results: The Well is connected to Enwave’s Hot Water distribution network which is incorporating an increasing number of low-carbon generating assets to provide low-carbon hot water to Enwave customers with net-zero aspirations.

Sector Coupling – Certificate of Merit
Awarded to: A2A Calore e Servizi for their project, “Decarbonization of Brescia District Heating System in Brescia, Italy”

About the project: A2A manages the district heating system in Brescia, Italy, providing heat to 20,500 substations across residential, commercial, industrial, and public sectors. The utility’s decarbonization journey has included the installation of heat pumps, TES, and a PV system. In June 2025, the utility inaugurated its first waste-heat recovery system from the data center.

The results: In 2024, the district heating system utilized 17% natural gas, of which 12% were from highly efficient cogeneration and 83% non-fossil fuels. Compared to 2016 baseline, CO₂ emissions decreased by 73%, NOx emissions by 92%, and SO2 emissions by 100%.

Emerging District Energy Market – Award of Excellence
Awarded to: HUNOSA for their project, “‘Fondón Colliery’ District Heating System in Langreo, Asturias, Spain.”

About the project: HUNOSA developed the Fondón District Heating System in Asturias, Spain, harnessing the mine water pumped from an old mine and hybridizing this solution with biomass boilers to provide heating and domestic hot water to a total of 13 buildings of different types in the town of La Felguera. With this hybridization, this system has stabilized dependence on mine water and optimized the performance of the geothermal installation and the cost of production through the implementation of a smart tool.

The results: With the success of this district heating system, HUNOSA is overseeing the future development of district heating networks in the region of Asturias.

Emerging District Energy Market – Certificate of Merit
Awarded to: Markham District Energy Inc. for their project, “Markham District Energy in Markham, Canada.”

About the project: Markham District Energy has consistently invested in Sector Coupling assets to increase production efficiency, reduce emissions, and enhance system flexibility and operational redundancy. All buildings constructed in the city’s two greenfield urban centers are connected to district energy. In addition to hot water thermal storage, absorption cooling technology, and dual fuel assets, Markham’s largest Sector Coupling investment from 2000 to 2014 was a 12 MW CHP fleet, and its investment continues to accelerate with heat pump investments, including an innovative 31.45 MW Wastewater Energy Transfer (WET) plant to integrate thermal energy recovery from a large sewer main, the largest project of its type in the world.

The results: CHP heat recovery dramatically increased hot water production efficiency, which lowered emissions as compared to the status quo in-building heating plant efficiency.

New Scheme – Award of Excellence
Awarded to: Utilitas Tallinn for their project, “24 MW Heat pump for district heating in Tallinn, Estonia.”

About the project: The primary heat source in Tallinn, Estonia, is a biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant that uses waste wood from local forestry operations to reduce dependence on natural gas during peak demand periods. Utilitas commissioned a 24 MW heat pump that recovers waste heat from the CHP plant’s flue gas and can be fed directly into the district heating network. The heat pump is powered by electricity from renewable sources, resulting in zero CO₂ emissions during operation.

The results: This solution reduces annual gas consumption by 13.5 million m³, cuts CO₂ emissions by approximately 20,000 tons per year, and lowers the overall cost of heat production. The system recovers 18 MW of heat from the flue gas while simultaneously condensing the moisture it contains.

New Scheme – Certificate of Merit
Awarded to: Polar Night Energy for their project, “Polar Night Energy’s Sand Battery for Loviisan Lämpö in Pornainen, Finland.”

About the project: Polar Night Energy has built an industrial-scale Sand Battery for Loviisan Lämpö, a Finnish energy company. The thermal energy storage serves as the primary production plant for the local heating network, with the Sand Battery's goal being to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from district heating production in the Pornainen municipality.

The results: The heating power of the Sand Battery can store up to 100 MWh of thermal energy, making it about ten times larger than the Sand Battery in operation in Kankaanpää since 2022. It is a prime example of the circular economy in action.

District Energy in Developing Countries – Award of Excellence
Awarded to: Tabreed for their project, “Cooling-as-a-Service Concession – TRIL Gurugram in Haryana, India.”

About the project: Tabreed’s Cooling-as-a-Service (CaaS) concession is transforming how urban India delivers sustainable cooling. With India’s cooling demand set to rise eightfold by 2037, scalable solutions like Tabreed’s district cooling system plant is critical to managing peak loads, cutting emissions, and easing grid stress.

The results: India’s first CaaS project has already leveraged high-performance HFO chillers, digital metering, and leak-detection systems to ensure efficiency and transparency across the country’s commercial real estate, and its scalable design is making replication in other Indian cities more feasible.

“A big thank you to the International District Energy Association for hosting this ninth Awards ceremony in Washington and to Euroheat & Power for managing the submission and assessment procedures,” said Robin Wiltshire, Chair, GDECA and Chair, International Energy Agency Technology Collaboration Programme on District Heating & Cooling (IEA DHC). “As Chair of the assessment panel, I would also like to thank panel members for their diligence and wisdom in assessing the submissions. I am delighted to report that once more, we have seen such great quality and diversity in the systems that have come forward. It is testament to the commitment and skills of all those who have contributed to making these systems such a success, and we thank them wholeheartedly for displaying their achievements, which I am sure will inspire others in their quests for excellence.”

For full details regarding this year’s winning projects, please visit https://www.districtenergyaward.org.

About IDEA
The International District Energy Association (IDEA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit industry association founded in 1909 and based in Massachusetts, USA. Representing nearly 3,000 members across more than 30 countries, IDEA champions district heating, district cooling, thermal networks, and combined heat and power (CHP) as reliable, efficient, and sustainable solutions. Its mission is to foster the success of its members as global leaders in advancing energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions, and building resilient, sustainable communities.

About Euroheat & Power
Euroheat & Power (EHP) is the international non-profit association based in Brussels, Belgium, dedicated to promoting sustainable district heating and cooling systems in Europe and beyond. Founded in 1954, it unites over 160 members – including utilities, national associations, researchers, and suppliers – across 30 countries to advocate for, and advance, clean energy solutions.

About the Global District Energy Climate Awards
The Global District Energy Climate Awards (GDECA) are an international awards program that celebrates and recognizes outstanding district energy systems and projects around the world that contribute to climate goals and sustainable energy solutions—especially in the areas of heating and cooling.

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