Intelligent district heating network launched in Friedrichstadt
The state capital Dresden is taking another step towards a climate-friendly and digitally controlled energy supply: Together with SachsenEnergie, an intelligent district heating network with a large modular heat pump has been put into operation in Friedrichstadt. The system uses environmental heat, converts it into district heating and feeds it into the neighbourhood around Behringstrasse as required. In this way, around 2,100 megawatt hours of renewable heat can be provided annually and around 273 tonnes of CO₂ can be saved. The system is supplemented by a heat storage tank, which enables flexible use of the energy generated and helps to decouple heat generation and actual consumption from each other, making operation more efficient overall.
A central component of the project is the comprehensive digitalisation of the district heating network. Operating and consumption data is continuously recorded and analysed to create a digital image of the network. This data basis allows the heat supply to be aligned more precisely with actual demand, network temperatures to be reduced in a targeted manner and operations to be further optimised. At the same time, the knowledge gained creates the basis for reliable forecasts of future heating requirements in the neighbourhood.
The"sector coupling" measure combines the renewable heat generation project with intelligent control and shows how the heating transition can be implemented in practice at neighbourhood level. The project serves as a model and is intended to be transferred to other neighbourhoods and cities in the future. It is funded as part of the federal programme "Model Projects Smart Cities" of the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building. The system went into operation in November 2025 and the digital network mapping was completed by the end of 2025. On 18 March 2026, the project was presented to the public in the presence of Jan Pratzka, Councillor for Economic Affairs, Digital Affairs, Human Resources and Security of the state capital Dresden and SachsenEnergie CEO Dr Axel Cunow.
