Handover of the funding decision for the AQVA-HEAT II investment measure by the Saxon Ministry for Regional Development
On 14.04.2023, Minister of State Schmidt from the Saxon Ministry for Regional Development ceremoniously handed over the funding decision for the AQVA-HEAT II investment measure to the Institute for Process Technology, Process Automation and Metrology (IPM) at Zittau Görlitz University of Applied Sciences in Weißwasser.
In addition to the representatives of the ministries involved in the application phase: the Saxon State Ministry for Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture (SMEKUL), the Saxon Ministry for Regional Development (SMR) and the Sächsische Aufbaubank (SAB), the representatives of the participating municipal utilities from Weißwasser and Zittau as well as the project partners of the research network were also present.
The funding of around €3.1 million made available from the Coal Region Investment Act will be used to continue the AQVA-HEAT project for year-round testing of heat generation based on water heat for decentralized and centralized heat supply structures. The overall system is to be set up and demonstrated at the Ziegelteich site in Weißwasser and at the Mandau site in Zittau as part of the funding project. The funding provided will be used for the detailed planning and construction of the large components (vacuum liquid ice generator, heat pump), the peripherals required for water extraction and its return to the watercourses, the integration on the heating side and the control and regulation concept for the overall concept. The aim is to transfer the overall system to seasonal trial operation and to provide fundamental answers to the technological and aquatic ecological questions associated with the operation of the overall system.
At the handover, the Minister of State emphasized the particular importance of researching new types of systems for sustainable heat supply for decentralized and central supply structures, as this is the only way to successfully implement the heat transition towards a climate and resource-friendly heat supply, taking into account technological, ecological and social aspects.
After the ceremonial handover of the funding decision to our Chancellor Ms. Hollstein, the Rector Professor Alexander Kratzsch and the Managing Director of Stadtwerke Weißwasser GmbH Ms. Katrin Bartsch, Thomas Gubsch from IPM presented the overall AQVA-HEAT concept, the central objectives and the timeline of the project. The next steps and milestones of the investment project were then agreed as part of the project network.
Finally, the Minister of State, Thomas Schmidt, expressed his thanks for the presentation of the project content, showed his enthusiasm for the scope of the planned project and was able to see for himself that the funding was well invested.
Our express thanks go to the project partners and supporters in the project application for the AQVA-HEAT II investment measure in the Saxon State Ministry for Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture, the Saxon State Ministry for Regional Development, the Saxon Development Bank, the members of the Saxon State Parliament, the participating municipal utilities in Weißwasser and Zittau and our partners in the project.
