Simulation and analysis of a district heating grid scenario as part of a hybrid network

The heating sector in Germany accounts for more than half of the total energy consumption. Consequently, the decarbonization of this sector is crucial for reaching the GHG emissions reduction targets. In this context, district heating plays a fundamental role due to its high potential regarding the integration of renewable energy sources. An important opportunity is especially represented by hybrid networks, which consists of the coupling of generators, consumers and storage technologies belonging to different sectors. The topic of this thesis is the development and simulation of a heat supply scenario including two hybrid grids for a district in the German town of Neuburg an der Donau. The heat is provided by two district heating systems with decentralized storage tanks, which are supported by sector coupling technologies such as electric heating elements and heat pumps. The electricity surplus generated by rooftop photovoltaic plants is exploited for feeding these coupling technologies, through a supply-oriented approach. The PV power that is not consumed by these technologies is used to partially run a large HP that supplies one of the two considered DHGs. The results of the yearly simulation, carried out in the software MATLAB Simulink, are compared to a reference scenario without sector coupling and with a similar scenario analyzed in a previous work: the main difference is in the supply of the new development area, that in this thesis is provided by a low temperature district heating grid, supplied by a groundwater heat pump. The results show that the analyzed energy route has the potential to be an exemplary solution for other similar districts. The use of the efficient heat pump technology for the supply of the new development area represents an opportunity to further implement sector coupling. However, the scenario requires further investigation to improve some critical issues. The storage concept for the new development area could be revised, so that heat losses are reduced and the system is optimized. Moreover, the issue regarding high GHG emissions due to the presence of the central heat pump has to be addressed, for example by planning the installation of a ground photovoltaic plant next to the district.