A pilot programme will soon be launched to feed heat from the Warsaw metro into the city network and heat buildings. Today, the heat generated is removed to the surface.
Where does the heat come from in the underground rail system? There are several factors. The main one is the friction caused by the train wheels and the electric motors of the trains. The air is also heated by the passengers. This causes the air in the tunnels and on the platforms to heat up, to be captured and fed into the city’s district heating network instead of being removed to the surface.
We wrote about the idea of using heat in this way back in 2022 when Veolia Energia Warsaw and the Warsaw Metro signed a letter of intent to cooperate on investigating the potential for secondary use of heat from the metro. The analyses took several months. They resulted in a plan to launch a heat collection system at the M2 Bemowo station. This will be a pilot installation to recover heat and inject it into the city network.
Employees of Veolia and Metro made several site visits, measured the temperature at selected stations, analysed the size of walkways, humidity, dust and access to sewage systems or electricity switching stations.
Locations were also assessed in terms of their proximity to the existing district heating network – so that the recovered heat could effectively supply consumers. One of the stations in Warsaw’s Bemowo district was selected as the site for the first installation. At the end of 2023, a contract description was prepared for a feasibility study on heat recovery from the metro. As a result of the tender, the company Cundall Polska Sp. z o.o. was selected. The work on the feasibility study lasted two months and confirmed that the technical and economic feasibility of the installation – according to the technical variants considered – existed, the published announcement reads.
Heat pumps will soon be installed at the M2 Bemowo metro station. Once completed, it will be possible to send the recovered heat to the district heating network. The Warsaw Metro reports that this is not the end of the work. Other locations will be selected where a similar installation will be launched.
The project to recover heat from the tunnels of the Warsaw metro was developed as part of the 3rd edition of the Veolia Energia Warsaw Innovation Competition in 2021. The idea won the main prize, the Grand Prix, and was included in the programme of heat recovery source projects in the city.
source: Metro Warszawskie
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