Waste heat is a valuable yet often underutilized energy source. The Platform for Waste Heat has now published comprehensive data on industrial waste heat potential in Germany. We have incorporated this valuable information into our heatbeat Digital Twin, offering a dedicated layer to visualize these potentials. This enables our customers to search specifically for usable waste heat sources and incorporate them into their planning.

Waste heat data as a new layer in the heatbeat Digital Twin

By integrating waste heat data into the heatbeat Digital Twin, we offer an innovative solution for municipal utilities, energy suppliers, local authorities and planners to make efficient use of industrial waste heat. The data now includes over 21,000 reported waste heat sources from all over Germany and provides a valuable basis for projects ranging from municipal heat planning to the planning of new heating networks and the optimization of existing networks.

Our customers can activate the new layer directly in the Digital Twin and display the relevant waste heat sources in their region. As can be seen in the following illustration, this view can be combined with the display and analysis of both the heat demand in the surrounding area and the utilization of existing heating networks. This allows synergies between industrial waste heat generators and heat consumers to be better identified and utilized.

What are the advantages of integration?

• Efficient Planning: Heating network operators and local authorities can quickly overview usable waste heat sources in their region.
• Increase sustainability: The use of industrial waste heat reduces CO₂ emissions and supports the energy transition.
• Cost savings: Using existing waste heat sources can reduce the need for fossil fuels and cut costs in the long term.
• Support for all planning processes: The data can be directly integrated into feasibility studies, transformation plans in accordance with BEW (federal funding for efficient heating networks) and municipal heating planning.

Practical application in municipal heat planning

Local authorities face the challenge of developing sustainable heat supply concepts. The use of industrial waste heat sources can play a decisive role in making heating networks economical and environmentally friendly.

With the new waste heat layer in the heatbeat Digital Twin, municipal utilities and planners can quickly and easily find out which industrial waste heat sources are located in the vicinity of existing or planned heating networks. In addition, our Digital Twin enables a spatial classification with a view of the surrounding heat requirements and demand densities. This makes it easier to identify suitable locations for the use of waste heat and forms the basis for more in-depth analyses.

Technische Umsetzung und Datenquellen

The data from the waste heat platform is freely available here. This allowed us to integrate the data into our heatbeat Digital Twin. We are delighted that the raw data has been published in such a readily processable form in this case. Another example of the use of the same data set can be found on the TLK Energy blog, for example, where the data has also been integrated into an interactive map.

The presentation of this data is part of our Base module and is therefore available to all our users. In addition, the data view can be combined with other modules such as Design and Insights to perform detailed analyses.

The combination with live data from existing heating networks, for example, enables an even more precise assessment of the feasibility of waste heat utilization.

The data on the waste heat platform is updated regularly. We ensure that the latest information is always available in our digital twin. Currently, the data update from March 14, 2025, is available in the interactive view.

Conclusion

Utilizing waste heat is a crucial step towards creating sustainable and economical heating networks. With the new waste heat layer in the heatbeat Digital Twin, we offer our customers a powerful way to make the most of this potential. Whether municipal heat planning, transformation plans or feasibility studies - with our solution, sustainable heat concepts can be implemented efficiently.we would like to thank the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control's Federal Office for Energy Efficiency and its platform for waste heat as well as the AwaNetz innovation project for this excellent basis for better utilization of waste heat potential!

Discover now!

Would you like to find out more about how you can use waste heat in your region? Contact us or test the heatbeat Digital Twin!