Partnership for greener Warsaw signs MoU during HM King Frederik’s visit to Poland

• The partnership will explore the opportunities to reuse excess heat from the Warsaw Metro to heat the city’s buildings, homes, and water.
• The City of Warsaw, the Royal Danish Embassy in Poland, Metro Warszawskie, Danfoss and Rambøll Group are joint signatories to the MoU in the presence of His Majesty King Frederik X of Denmark.
• Excess heat is the world’s largest untapped source of energy. In Warsaw alone, the accessible excess heat can cover the heating demand of at least 275,000 people.

Warsaw, February 1, 2024 – Today, Danfoss signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) together with the Municipality of Warsaw, the Royal Danish Embassy in Poland, Metro Warszawskie, and Rambøll Group to make the Polish capital more sustainable. The first step in the partnership, consisting of public and private entities, will focus on exploring the possibility of reusing excess heat from the Warsaw Metro system to heat private homes and buildings.

A feasibility study will be carried out with funds from The Export and Investment Fund of Denmark’s Green Accelerator Program being made available to the City of Warsaw.

Warsaw is a member city of the European Commission’s Cities Mission, a project aiming to achieve 100 climate neutral and smart cities in the EU by 2030, and this MoU is an important step towards achieving that.

His Majesty King Frederik X will be present at the signing ceremony at the Naradowy Metro Station in central Warsaw which is part of the official program of His Majesty, the King’s visit to Poland.

Excess heat is the world’s largest untapped source of energy, and it can be found throughout any city. Every time an engine runs, heat is generated and there are currently very few initiatives that reuse this wasted form of energy. Industries, metro systems, supermarkets, data centers, wastewater plants, and hydrogen electrolysis all produce significant amounts of excess heat which can be captured and reused.

The accessible excess heat in Warsaw alone can cover the heating demand of at least 275,000 people in Poland - and that is not considering further accessible excess heat from industries and data centers. 

Adam Jędrzejczak, President, East European Region, Danfoss, comments on the importance of the Alliance:

“The partnership is a great demonstration of what we can achieve when organizations work together, and the Memorandum of Understanding is an important first step to reuse the vast amounts of excess heat available in Warsaw and beyond. Rather than simply letting heat dissipate into thin air, we are taking active steps to capture and re-use it and paving the way for fully decarbonized heating in cities like Warsaw. And it isn’t only in the Warsaw Metro system; there is vast potential in reusing heat from wastewater facilities, industrial clusters, and data centers in major cities all over Europe. Excess heat can become a vital source of green energy and help accelerate the transition to renewables.”

Speaking of His Majesty, King Frederick X’s participation in the MoU signing, Adam Jędrzejczak, says:

“We are honored that His Majesty, King Frederik X was present for the signing of the Memorandum, and we deeply appreciate that he is using his visit in Poland to promote green solutions that are able to tackle the challenges of climate change not only in Poland but all around the world.”

Michał Olszewski, Deputy Mayor of the City of Warsaw, says:

“Every day we look for solutions to make our city even greener. All measures aimed at reducing CO2 emissions in the Capital are positively received by the city authorities. Thanks to this partnership, we will benefit from modern technologies that are already proven."

Jerzy Lejk President of the Management Board, Metro Warszawskie, says:

“The Warsaw Metro serves the residents as a convenient and fast means of transport, however, as a significant component of the entire infrastructure of the capital, it can also help improve living conditions in our city. Therefore, projects like the one connected with utilizing energy obtained from the metro's functioning facilities to heat buildings are not only seen as a challenge but also as part of our Company's mission, carried out in collaboration with the City of Warsaw. We are pleased to pursue these goals with the help of our Danish partners, whose expertise and technological advancement ensure innovation and effectiveness.”

The Danish Embassy in Poland has been facilitating the MoU between the many entities involved.

Commenting on the MoU, Ole Toft, Ambassador, HE, Royal Danish Embassy in Poland says:

“At the Royal Danish Embassy in Warsaw, we are glad to have been able to facilitate this project which is a very fine example of Polish-Danish cooperation on energy efficiency and city development.”

Background information

Memorandum of Understanding

With a population of 1.8 million inhabitants, Warsaw is by far the largest city in Poland. As such, it also plays an outsized role in ensuring that Poland reaches the goals of the PEP2040, its comprehensive agenda for creating a just transition to a zero-emission energy system.

In the vast area that makes up Warsaw’s district heating system, there lies many potential sources of excess heat just waiting to be put to efficient use. That is the dozens of stations of the city’s Metro system. Every year, a combined 62 GWh of heat is wasted from the metro stations. This is the equivalent to the heating demand for the homes of over 14,000 people living in Poland for a year.

With technologies that already exist today, this heat could be captured and recirculated in the district heating network, helping pave the way to a fully decarbonized heating system in Warsaw. The companies behind the MoU include Danfoss, GEA DK, Bjerg Akitektur, Elogic, and Rambøll Group.

Excess heat is the world’s biggest untapped source of green energy

Warsaw has a developed district heating system consisting of more than 1,800 kilometers of pipes delivering hot water to and from the city’s buildings. But while Warsaw’s district heating system gives it a head start on energy efficient heating, there is a near-total reliance on four fossil fuel heat plants to deliver the heat to the district heating system. There is, however, a readily available solution to help address this: utilizing excess heat.

Excess heat is the world's largest untapped source of energy. In the EU and UK alone, there is about 2,860 TWh/y of waste heat accessible, almost corresponding to the EU’s total energy demand for heat and hot water in residential and service sector buildings. By using excess heat that would otherwise go to waste, it is possible to cut emissions and lower energy prices for consumers.

For further information please contact:
Mikkel Ballegaard Pedersen, Public Relations Manager
Phone +45 26 10 95 19
Email: Mikkel.ballegaard@danfoss.com