Ghent and Ghent University (UGent) have extended their partnership on the city’s energy transition. The Gent Fossielvrij partnership continues for three years, with a possible three-year extension. It keeps Ghent as a living lab where solutions to concrete urban challenges are researched and tested in practice.
How the partnership works
Since 2021 the city and UGent have combined their expertise on making Ghent fossil-free by 2050. Researchers from EnerGhentIC, the university’s interdisciplinary network of energy researchers, work alongside city staff on sustainable buildings and neighbourhoods. Districts such as Muide-Meulestede and Mariakerke serve as living labs. The agenda for the new period includes grounding policy in science, exchanging scientific and practical expertise, and inspiring innovation from within the city.
Results so far and next questions
The city says the past five years produced concrete results. A joint analysis in the Vogelhoek district showed that 54 percent of homes are suitable for prefabricated renovation. Researchers also showed the value of large-scale thermal storage for making city buildings such as the city hall fossil-free.
In the coming years the partners will study, among other things:
- how to avoid noise nuisance from heat pumps in densely built neighbourhoods;
- how to speed up the transition to fossil-free apartment buildings.
European projects
The city describes the cooperation as a lever for larger projects and European cooperation. Ghent and UGent/EnerGhentIC currently work together in three European projects:
| Project | Focus |
|---|---|
| NEUTRALPATH | A positive energy district in Muide-Meulestede |
| HeriTACE | Energy renovation of heritage homes in historic districts |
| COPPER | The electricity grid of the future |
Ghent is lead partner of COPPER, which is funded by Interreg North Sea. The project runs from 2023 to 2027. It aims to deliver six pilots for energy planning led by local authorities. Ghent will run its own pilot to strengthen grid resilience in an all-electric neighbourhood. Mariakerke aims to be one of the first climate-neutral neighbourhoods. The city will work with grid operator Fluvius and Ghent University to test a system for rewarding providers of flexibility services such as dynamic energy storage.