Forgotten or irreplaceable? The role of district heating in the energy transition

The seminar is aimed at district heating operators, researchers, and developers.

The event can accommodate 50 participants.

The seminar program is free of charge for participants. We offer participants a bus ride to the excursion sites on Wednesday's excursion day.

Participants book and pay for their own accommodation and travel.

Seminar participants can get a 10 % discount on daily room rates at Hotel Verso.

Room reservations can be made directly from Hotel Verso home page with the booking code JAMK. Alternatively, reservations can be made by phone to Hotel Verso reception +358 14 333 999 or by email info@hotelliverso.fi.

The schedule of the seminar.

Speakers:

Ari Kuisma, project manager at Jamk
Nashmin Hosseinpour, energy specialist at Jamk

The presentation explores how flexibility can support the transition towards efficient, low-carbon district heating systems. Drawing on the IEA DHC Annex XIV FlexVal project, it highlights the combined role of flexible technologies, buildings, smart control and pricing, while showing why solutions must be tailored to local energy-system and market conditions. It also demonstrates the value of integrating flexibility early in system planning, design and business-model development.

Speaker: Miika Rämä, Research Team Leader for Energy transition research team at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland 

Participants can choose where they eat and pay for their own lunch.

Nearest lunch places are:

• Restaurant Cube
• Restaurant Fiilu
• Trattoria Aukio

The presentation covers the conditions under which low-temperature, variable waste heat can be techno-economically integrated into district heating, and the role of fourth-generation district heating in this and in the energy transition more broadly.

Speaker: Altti Meriläinen, M.Sc. (Tech.), works as a Junior Researcher in the Department of Electrical Engineering at LUT University. He researches how renewable electricity and thermal energy generation and storage as well as energy flow control are techno-economically co-optimized for buildings and industry as part of the surrounding energy system. In his dissertation, he explores the conditions under which low-temperature waste heat generated in water electrolysis can be utilized cost-effectively in district heating and direct air capture of carbon. Additionally, he researches the electrification of heavy road transport, with a particular focus on design and control of charging infrastructure. In his free time, he enjoys various activities, including cycling, running, skiing, and working on personal engineering projects.

Speaker: Riku Martikainen, Business Manager at ALVA.

This work shows how demand-side optimisation can unlock low-temperature waste heat integration in district heating systems without requiring deep building retrofits. Using high-resolution monitoring and data-driven analysis in Viborg, the study identifies operational bottlenecks and demonstrates achievable reductions in supply and return temperatures. The results highlight how building-level control and data integration can translate into system-level gains, improving efficiency and enabling future large-scale waste heat utilisation.

Speaker: Michele Tunzi, Associate Professor in the Civil and Mechanical Engineering Department at Technical University of Denmark

Need something to do for the evening? For tips, please check out Visit Jyväskylä Region web pages. From there, you can find lots to see and do in Jyväskylä, e.g. The Express Route tour, that guides you through the city in 3 hours!

Address: Hannikaisenkatu 20, 40100 Jyväskylä.

The buss leaves at 9.00 o'clock, so please arrive to the Travel Centre at least 8.50 o'clock.

Visit to Alva’s Rauhanlahti energy facilities in Jyväskylä, featuring the new electric boiler and thermal accumulator, together with the heat pump station at the wastewater treatment plant. These solutions play a key role in the transition to low-carbon, non-combustion energy technologies.

All dishes include a generous salad buffet, beverages, freshly baked house bread and spreads, a little sweet treat, and coffee or freshly brewed tea from Teeleidi. Special diets are taken into account.

All participants pay for their own lunch.

The Saarijärvi district heating plant offers a practical example of how a small district heating network is preparing for the energy transition. The site features a 2.2 MW electric boiler, commissioned in 2026, which is located in connection with the existing heating plant. The same building also houses oil-fired boilers used for peak and backup production.

The heating plant area also features a 4.5 MW fluidized-bed boiler that runs on wood chips and peat. The system is complemented by a 20 MWh thermal storage system and an absorption heat pump.

A small-scale data center project is also being planned for the area, with the goal of utilizing waste heat as part of the district heating system in the future.

New Hybrid District Heating Concepts testing environment

The bus will return to Jyväskylä Travel Centre by 16.00 o'clock.