Equans designs, installs and operates the heat network of the largest eco-district in Belgium and provides 1,350 households with hot water and heating
This is a project that fits in perfectly with Equans’s strategy to accelerate the energy transition. Situated a stone’s throw from Liège city centre (on the Coronmeuse site), the Rives Ardentes eco-district is an upcoming eco-responsible neighbourhood that will soon benefit from local and centralised energy. Led by the Néo Légia consortium (comprising the companies CIT Blaton, Jan De Nul Group and Willemen Groep), this project aims to promote the emergence of a new urban lifestyle, focusing on sustainability.
Equans is in charge of designing and installing the heat network which will provide hot water and heating to this brand-new ecosystem. School, crèches, local shops, private housing... In total, over 1,350 buildings and housing units are concerned. For the next twenty years, our teams will take charge of maintaining the installations and delivering low-carbon energy to the residents.
Did you say eco-district?
There are more and more eco-districts like the Rives Ardentes site in our country. Investing in nature and the well-being of their residents, they appeal to a growing number of urban dwellers who are looking for a friendly, human and green living environment. Designed to meet precise sustainable development objectives, the Rives Ardentes project is exemplary in the field. Not only because it will be the largest eco-district ever built in Belgium (more than 25 hectares!), but also because it will provide a particularly diverse habitat combining sustainable construction, energy performance and soft mobility.
Heating using waste
“The delivery of the first housing units is scheduled for the second half of 2023,” says Romain Schellens, Project Manager at Equans. “By this date, two apartment buildings and several detached houses will already benefit from the urban heat network set up by Equans.”
And this project’s original feature? The residents will be heated from energy generated by incinerating the city of Liège’s waste. This innovative concept will enable them to enjoy a stable consumer price because the energy provided will be local and virtually unaffected by fossil energy market fluctuations.
How does it work?
This project has been made possible by the presence of the Uvelia-Intradel energy recovery unit (ERU) located nearby. In this plant, which was initially designed to produce electricity by incinerating household waste, Equans has recently installed a steam recovery system on behalf of Urbeo (the Herstal autonomous municipality-controlled property company) and Herstal Énergie Verte (HEVE - Herstal Green Energy). The aim of this contract was to recover the steam from waste combustion to convey it through a primary pipe network to an exchanger that could capture the heat supplied by the ERU and send it to end consumers.
"Within the framework of the Rives Ardentes contract led on behalf of the Néo Légia consortium, we are in charge of installing a second pipe network (referred to as the ‘secondary network’) which will bring the heat to the eco-district’s residents. We are also installing the technical room that will link the primary network to the secondary network and connecting each housing unit to this secondary network."
And what happens for the consumer?
For the consumer, it couldn’t be easier! A sub-station placed inside their home (in their utility room or cloakroom, for example) will enable them to receive water at a temperature of 70° for their heating and hot water. “Equans takes care of everything,” explains Thibaut Pairon, Business Developer at Equans. “This includes sizing the equipment, installation, maintenance, repairs, replacement of faulty parts, metering and consumption viewing, managing the equipment and its performance, etc.”
Equans will also buy the heat from HEVE (Herstal Energie Verte) and deliver this heat to the residents. The network will be installed in two phases: the first is underway and the second will take place in a few years, in line with the eco-district’s development.
Energy communities
Heat and cooling network, cogeneration, solar panels... There are several ways of leaving behind our dependency on gas and petrol. Our teams are specialised in the development of low-carbon heating solutions and have broad expertise on the subject. From design to electrical and thermal installation, piping works, automation, maintenance and operation, we act as a facilitator and solution integrator.
This is the case for Rives Ardentes and it’s just an example. Facing the increase in energy prices and the population’s new concerns, there will be many more eco-districts in years to come. Our ambition is to help energy communities develop and offer the best possible service to residents.