Energy transition and drinking water phase 1: overview, impact and knowledge gaps

For the present project, a project group, consisting of experts from KWR and the water utilities, will organise two workshops in order to acquire an overview of ongoing and planned research at the interface of the energy transition and drinking water. This should also reveal areas where knowledge gaps exist. The workshop outcomes will provide the project group with the base to outline a plan for the follow-up phases.

Consequences of the energy transition

For drinking water utilities the energy transition has significant consequences. For example, heat networks will probably be rolled out on a large-scale over the next few decades, with possibly a negative impact on drinking water pipes. By the end of the current government’s term, the use of natural gas to heat new housing and other new buildings will be a thing of the past. Moreover, the heating of the current housing stock is also being gradually made more sustainable. With these developments the water utilities are now facing demands to participate in pilots and in policy-development aimed at making neighbourhoods gas-free.

Exploration

To clarify the impact of the energy transition for drinking water distribution, an exploration was conducted of the transition’s effect on the drinking water infrastructure; this was done at the request of Vewin and within the framework of the Joint Research Programme’s Policy-Support Research 2020. The courses of action for the drinking water sector were also studied. During the consultations with the different theme groups of the Joint Research Programme, several of them indicated that knowledge questions existed concerning the impact of the energy transition on the drinking water provision. As a result, a decision was made to dedicate one of the three theme-overarching research projects to the energy transition and drinking water.

At the interface of the energy transition and water

Parallel to the knowledge questions raised with regard to the energy transition within the Joint Research Programme, KWR, together with other knowledge organisations, water utilities and the energy sector, has developed research projects and programmes at the interface of the energy transition and water, namely: ENGINE (TKI), WarmingUP (MMIP4) and Verenigd! (MOOI). If the water utilities succeed in formulating a single, jointly-underpinned sectoral position, it would facilitate collaboration in multisectoral research and in consultations with government.

Integrated projects

Although the fleshing out of the theme-overarching research has been discussed with those involved in the form of subprojects, this has yet to be done adequately in the case of integrated projects. This step is particularly complicated because projects dealing with substantively similar material are also ongoing outside of the Joint Research Programme. Furthermore, the delineation of the theme-overarching research is still unclear. Water utilities indicate that they have a strong need for an overview and integration. This is why a logical first step for the theme-overarching research is to acquire an overview with the water utilities of the impact of the energy transition, which will make it possible to reveal knowledge gaps and define research priorities.

Outcomes and implementation

The project begins with two workshops in January 2021 on the energy transition and drinking water. This constitutes the first phase of the theme-overarching project. In the workshops an overview will be presented, based on other research projects, of ongoing and planned research at the interface of the energy transition and drinking water. A compact project team, with a background network at all the water utilities and Vewin, will present recommendations arising from the Policy-Support Research on the energy transition. Knowledge gaps will also be collected and prioritised. The presentations will be made available on BTONet. On the basis of the workshops, the project team will in February 2021 elaborate the project plan for the next phase of the theme-overarching project.

Target group

The target group for the said workshops are the strategic advisors at drinking water utilities, stakeholder managers, customer managers, asset managers, inspectors and executives and project leaders in distribution at the drinking water utilities, who are confronted with choices on how to deal with the work activities of third-parties in the energy transition, and how to inform and/or involve stakeholders (including customers).