Start Signal for District Cooling Center in Vienna-Alsergrund

Wien Energie is further expanding its district cooling network. On Monday, it put its eighth large district cooling center into operation in Mariannengasse in the 9th district of Vienna, under the newly emerging campus of the Medical University of Vienna. Wien Energie CEO Michael Strebl described it as a "milestone" at a media event and pointed to the rapidly increasing number of tropical nights in Austria. A newly installed ice storage system also makes the facility more efficient.

Increase in Tropical Nights

Between 1960 and 1991, there was an average of 1.6 tropical nights per year, according to Strebl - nights in which temperatures do not drop below 20 degrees. In the 30 years thereafter, there were already 6.2 tropical nights annually; by 2024, around 50, he highlighted the benefits of expanding district cooling. At the same time, district heating also helps to curb climate change, as it causes half as much CO2 as conventional cooling systems.

An additional ice storage system makes the new facility particularly efficient: The cooling systems can thus operate more evenly. Unused cooling, which is produced at night, for example, can be stored in the form of an ice block and used for cooling during peak times.

22 Million Euros for Facility in Vienna-Alsergrund

The new facility also represents a gap closure between the district cooling ring around the Vienna city center and the district cooling network that connects the facility in Spittelau with the AKH hospital. "District cooling is now in a situation similar to where district heating was a few decades ago," said Strebl. "So it is an island network where the islands are now merging and a large interconnected network is emerging."

The cost for the new facility is estimated at 22 million euros in documents from Wien Energie. By 2030, a total of 90 million euros will be invested in the district cooling network.

The largest customer for the new facility will be the MedUni itself in the future, explained Christine Dornaus, Managing Director of the Federal Real Estate Company (BIG). Since the university laboratories are also cooled at night, they make significant use of the facility even outside peak times. According to Volkan Talazoglu, Vice Rector for Finance of the MedUni, the new campus will accommodate around 750 employees and 2,000 students from 2027.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.