District heating and cooling networks are advancing in Europe with more renewables, waste heat and electrification. The challenge now is to turn this progress into large-scale deployment through investment, planning and stable policies.
District heating and cooling networks are strengthening their role in Europe’s energy transition, driven by the need to reduce emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. In 2024, renewable and waste heat sources accounted for 46.2% of district heating supply, surpassing fossil fuels for the first time, while large-scale heat pumps and electric boilers continued to grow.
The expansion is also reflected in infrastructure: Europe has around 16,000 networks and more than 203,000 kilometres of distribution networks, 9.5% more than in 2019. This development enables the integration of renewable electricity, thermal storage and new sources such as waste heat from industry and data centres.
However, the DHC Market Outlook 2026 points out that accelerating deployment requires stable regulatory frameworks, better local planning and investment conditions capable of bringing available solutions to a much larger scale.
