The production of waste heat - or excess heat is substantial in the European Union. Despite the potential for excess heat utilisation several barriers exist. This paper identifies different barriers and enablers for excess heat utilisation, which is based on an analysis carried out in four European countries as part of EU funded project. The detailed literature review on the status of excess heat recovery identified a very diverse nature of district heating regulations in the different countries along with different layouts of contracts and business models. An analysis of the potential for excess heat utilisation in Denmark shows a substantial increase in excess heat utilisation in district heating. The identified barriers include access to a market (district heating network), lack of a comprehensive regulatory framework along with standardising contracts, lacking sinks (end users), and absent financial incentives to make excess heat a viable option for the potentially involved stakeholders.

The work is this paper got funding from EMB3Rs project.