Smart Energy Green Cities

Introduction to the Smart Energy Green Cities project

The idea behind the Smart Energy Green Cities project was to continue the many years of work carried out under the auspices of the company Cenergia, with the development of CO2 neutral construction and CO2 neutral urban areas based on a vision to utilize new technical solutions with building integrated solar cells and combine this with new types of economical “Smart Energy” solutions such as groundwater-based heat pump technology.

The Smart Energy Green Cities project has been implemented under the Danish Energy Agency’s “Smart Energy” pool from January 2019 until June 2021 with European Green Cities as coordinator and with civil engineer, partner and board chairman Peder Vejsig Pedersen as project manager and initiator. The partners in the project included the companies Solarplan v. architect maa. Klaus Boyer Rasmussen and Enopsol (now part of “Energy Machines) with director Stig Niemi Sørensen as participants. In addition, the company Kuben Management v. chief consultant Jakob Klint has been included as a subcontractor in the project.

As can be seen from the material from the project contract, there has initially been a close collaboration with Køge Municipality and VEKS as well as Aalborg University to work with ultra low temperature district heating in the development area Køge Nord.

European Green Cites (EGC) is a non-profit organization that partly functions as a network of cities, organizations and companies working for a green urban development in a sustainable Europe, and at the same time serves as secretariat for the Association Sustainable Cities and Buildings, FBBB which has a large number of members, including a number of Danish municipalities and housing associations, see www.fbbb.dk, www.greencities.eu and www.europeangreencities.com

The Smart Energy Green Cities project ties in with an ongoing effort to realize a “Smart Energy” initiative in Avedøre called Green City Avedøre, as well as a number of other Smart Energy initiatives. These include Køge Nord at the new station on the Ringsted Line, the transformation of the Frederiksberg Hospital site in Frederiksberg in Copenhagen and an energy supply solution to a new residential area with heat pumps in Værløse. Here an recent realised project with groundwater based cooling and heating by help of heat pumps (ATES) at the Bispebjerg Hospital was a very important inspiration.

At the same time, the idea was to use European Green Cities and FBBB to support a nationwide campaign for “Smart Energy” urban areas, where important experiences, e.g. with ATES technology (Groundwater heating and cooling in interaction with heat pumps) can be presented and disseminated. Here, a dialogue was carried out with urban areas, urban development projects and industrial areas, while at the same time FBBB’s database,, www.bæredygtigebygninger.dk  was brought into play, also with a focus on documenting “performance” in practice.

EGC had been commissioned by Avedøre Housing Association to coordinate a number of development projects, which together will lead to Avedøre and Avedøre Stationsby becoming Avedøre Green City. This collaboration also includes EBO Consult A/S, which is the initiator of the project, Avedøre Fjernvarme, which is administered by EBO Consult A/S and KAB, which is the housing organizations’ management company.

At the same time, the idea was to focus on a collaboration with Kuben Management and in this connection build on previous development work with a “Smart Energy” solution in the Køge Nord area and in this connection utilize some of the same principles that were worked on here.

As can be seen from a large number of reference projects for the use of groundwater storage to cover cooling and heating needs in interaction with heat pump operation, the company Enopsol (now Energy Maschines) has managed to utilize this so-called ATES technology (Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage) for a wide range of significant applications in Denmark. These include companies such as Widex and Grundfos, Copenhagen Airport, a number of hotels and, most recently, a large facility for Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen, where they will save 75% of energy consumption while achieving a positive user economy.

These projects have only been possible because it has been possible to document to the authorities how the conditions for groundwater will develop over time, including the fact the project developer they seek to create thermal balance on an annual basis so that the average groundwater temperature is maintained at the normal level. This means that when heat is added to the groundwater when used for cooling purposes, primarily in the summer period, this must be matched by an operation in the winter months, where heat is removed from the groundwater. This is typically done by using large heat pumps that cool the groundwater and thereby help to cover various heat needs.

Despite the very good results, this so-called “ATES” technology is still not very widespread in Denmark.

In 2018, in a collaboration between European Green Cities, Kuben Management and SBi/ AAU, proposals were developed for practical application of the ATES technology in a major urban development area in Køge North, where the idea was to combine it with so-called “Bifacial district heating and cooling”.

Master plan for Køge North, south of Copenhagen. Here, a new railway station along the highway is the basis for new urban development both with office construction and residential constructions.

Illustration of office buildings based in Køge Nord along the motorway and railway, which are prepared for the use of solar cells in the facades (BIPV).

(drawing: Reiulf Ramstein Architects from Norway)

The dissemination work in connection with the Smart Energy Green Cities project has partly taken the form of a final report, which can be accessed here, but also under “Downloads”. And due to the corona time limitations in terms of physical meetings, it was decided also to use a video film and Teams meetings under the auspices of European Green Cities to convey the project. The video file and the first Teams meeting can also be found under “Downloads”.

Introduction to the Smart Energy Green Cities project in Danish

Development of Smart Energy Design for CO2 neutral urban development

Locally produced solar energy could be part of the green transition

Annex Smart Energy Green Cities