About the Symposium
The International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling is a global biannual research conference focused on District Heating and Cooling (DHC) research. Over the years, it has developed into one of the most reputed events worldwide for communication on academic research in the field of DHC.
The first International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling in the row took place in Lund, Sweden back in 1987 and was initiated by the board of a Nordic District Heating Research Programme established in 1985. This Nordic District Heating Research Programme was financially supported by the Nordic Energy Research Institution, which itself was financed by the Energy Ministries of the Nordic countries.
In the first years, until 2004, the Nordic countries took turns when it came to the actual organisation of the Symposium. By 2004, however, the number of Symposium participants had grown significantly, and the Symposium increasingly drew delegates from other European countries – and from countries far beyond Europe.
That is why, in 2006, the Symposium – for the first time – was organised outside of the Nordic countries. That year, the University of Hannover was the organiser, cooperating with the German District Heating Association AGFW. Four years later, in 2010, the Symposium was again organised outside of the Nordic countries ,when Tallinn Technical University took on the responsibility.
From 2016 onwards, the Symposium has been managed under the wings of the IEA Technology Collaboration Programme on District Heating & Cooling (IEA DHC) with its Executive Committee (ExCo) as the formal steering body of the Symposium. And that same year, in 2016, the Symposium became truly global when its 15th edition was organised in Asia for the very first time, with the Korean District Heating Corporation (KDHC) as the responsible hosting body.
The latest edition of the series was the 18th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling in Beijing, China on September 6th - 9th, 2023.
Overview of all editions
- 1987: Lund, Sweden
- 1989: Reykjavik, Iceland
- 1991: Copenhagen, Denmark
- 1993: Trondheim, Norway
- 1995: Helsinki, Finland
- 1997: Reykjavik, Iceland
- 1999: Lund, Sweden
- 2002: Trondheim, Norway
- 2004: Helsinki, Finland
- 2006: Hannover, Germany
- 2008: Reykjavik, Iceland
- 2010: Tallinn, Estonia
- 2012: Copenhagen, Denmark
- 2014: Stockholm, Sweden
- 2016: Seoul, South Korea
- 2018: Hamburg, Germany
- 2021: Nottingham, United Kingdom
- 2023: Beijing, China
- 2025: Genk, Belgium
About the local organisers of 19th edition, taking place September 7th - 10th, 2025
EnergyVille is a collaboration between the Belgian research partners KU Leuven, VITO, imec and UHasselt in the fields of sustainable energy and intelligent energy systems. It develops technology and knowledge to support public and private stakeholders in the transition to an energy efficient, decarbonised and sustainable urban environment. The unique complementarity of the research partners allows EnergyVille to integrate the energy system value chain in its entirety – ranging from materials and components to the level of entire energy systems, business models and strategies. Its activties are clustered in eight interdisciplinary domains: solar energy, battery storage, power electronics, power-to-molecules, thermal systems, electrical networks, energy for buildings & districts, and energy strategies & markets.
With approximately 750 researchers and state-of-the-art research facilities, EnergyVille is a top European innovation hub in the energy field. It bundles research, development and training under one roof and collaborates closely with local, regional, national and international partners from industry as well as public authorities.
VITO, one of Europe's leading research centres with 1,300 employees, turns scientific insights into groundbreaking technological innovations, AI solutions, and policy advice. We do so with a single objective: to help the world thrive for at least 1,000 more years.
As a science-to-technology partner, we support companies, governments, and society in their sustainability transition. With our multidisciplinary approach and unique lab, scale-up, and testing infrastructure, we create practical technological innovations. We accelerate progress towards a regenerative economy that reinforces planetary boundaries (prioritising electrification and circularity), smart climate solutions for resilient and secure ecosystems, and a healthy living environment harmonising humans, industry, agriculture, and nature.
Our staff collaborate in multidisciplinary expertise teams across more than 40 research domains, utilising our unique laboratory and data infrastructure, as well as our extensive network of stakeholders. Through positive transition thinking and comprehensive techno-economic analysis, we deliver systemic solutions that are effective not only on paper but also in the complex realities of everyday life.
At VITO, we harness the power of science, engineering, digitalisation, and collaboration to implement sustainable solutions globally, enabling the continued integration of well-being and prosperity.
About IEA DHC
IEA DHC is an international funding and collaboration programme for research on district heating and cooling. Since it began in 1983, the IEA DHC has operated under the supervision of the International Energy Agency (IEA), bringing countries together to research, innovate and grow DHC. Countries that participate in the IEA DHC research programme leverage their resources to conduct research that they may not be able to accomplish on their own through international collaboration. The result is that participants gain leading-edge knowledge and insights that can improve energy performance, increase resilience, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, effectively helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change. As of today, the IEA DHC includes participants from Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Korea, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.