Starting signal for Antwerp North heating network
The first symbolic pipe of the Antwerp North Heat Network was recently laid. The works for this acoustic heat network will last until the end of next year. In a first phase, the new network serves industrial waste processing Boortmalt, which is committed to the long term and will use the heat in its business process. From 2024, Boortmalt will be able to produce malt with the heat from the Antwerp North Heat Network. The heat network is implemented in a closed cycle. The heat is brought from Indaver to Boortmalt, about 10 km away in the port, at a temperature of about 105 °C.
In a second phase, Fluvius will connect a residential network to this, so that schools, public buildings and 3,200 families in the Luchtbal and Rozemaai districts can also heat their homes with this industrial residual heat. Here too, a closed circuit is used so that no water is lost. This means a small saving on fossil fuels and a reduction in CO2emissions by up to 80,000 tons per year. In total, the network will have a capacity of approximately 150 Gwh/year. What is special is that it will be an ‘open access’ network. Any company in the port that purchases and/or purchases heat can also join at a later stage.
Residual heat is released during industrial production. A heat network with residual heat is an alternative to fossil fuel heating. The Antwerp North Heating Network uses residual heat from Indaver’s rotary kiln incinerators, where industrial waste is thermally processed.