REGENERATE - Reuse for energy exploitation and storage of existing urban tunnels in Europe

REGENERATE is a project funded by the DUT 2023 call.

The vision of REGENERATE is to contribute to the spread of positive energy districts by investigating the feasibility of existing urban tunnels to host renewable energy production and storage systems, and analyzing how they can be integrated in future heating networks, also in terms of acceptance and affordability. This technology would allow to make use of local energy sources and buffer differences between supply/demand at a local level, ensuring energy security and grid stability. In European urban areas, numerous underground spaces exist that could benefit from a smart and sustainable approach and be retrofitted for energy purposes having positive impacts on socio-economic activities.

Cooperation between Austria, Germany, Italy and Romania enables different European climates, urban environments, building stock, energy needs and tunnel types to be investigated. The possibility to transform existing underground spaces into thermal energy production and storage systems will be assessed by pilot site monitoring and its potential quantified via numerical modelling. The integration of these innovative heat sources into existing heat networks will be evaluated from different perspectives, enhancing the transferability of results. In addition, the creation of new local and communal heating networks will be investigated from the individual user-perspective, to combine social and technical innovation.

The consortium is made up of 17 partners. As beneficiaries, in addition to Politecnico di Torino, there are the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, the Technical University of Graz, the Technical University of Darmstadt, INFRATRASPORTI.TO and Geosolving Srl. The cooperation partners are: IREN SPA, the Municipality of Cluj-Napoca, the Asociatia Centrul De Resurse Pentru Eficienta Energetica (CREESC), the Municipality of Bregenz, Innsbrucker Kommunalbetriebe AG, Wiener Linien GmbH &CO KG, UHRIG Energie GmbH, DB InfraGO AG, HEAG AG, the Municipality of Münster and the Municipality of Otzberg.