KommWeiter – Implementing the municipal heating transition

In the project From Plan to Transition – KommWeiter: Implementing the Municipal Heat Transition – Synthesis and Research Transfer, scientists from the Reiner Lemoine Institute, together with experts from the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT and the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (iöw), are evaluating research projects on municipal heat planning nationwide. The project team brings together the results of the projects into a synthesis in order to support practical actors, especially municipalities, in implementing their heating transition.

Improvement of municipal heat planning  

Municipalities must continuously create, update and implement heat plans for the heating transition. There is often a lack of resources for this, such as expertise, capacities or resources. In the funding call From Plan to Transition of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), many funded projects are testing innovative ways to address these challenges and help municipalities implement municipal heat planning. The project team systematically evaluates the results of all funded projects with the help of meta-analyses as well as trend and environment analyses, makes the results comparable and combines the results into a synthesis.

Exchange and knowledge transfer 

The exchange between science, practice and other stakeholders is important in order to implement municipal heat planning. The networking of municipal stakeholders and the transfer of results will therefore take place via various formats, such as Komm.InFahrt, an online event series for municipalities, and SW.aktiv, a predominantly online-based event series for municipal utilities. Furthermore, the project team conducts exchange formats on various topics. This includes online presentations of results, best practice and recommendations, as well as a face-to-face networking meeting.

Research Priorities for Synthesis 

The project consists of several research focuses. The implementation of municipal heat planning in the district and the support methods for municipal heat planning managers are managed by Frauenhofer UMSICHT. The iöw deals with the cooperation of local actors and the participation and acceptance of the implementation process. The RLI experts investigate the interaction of the (local) heat transformation and the overall energy system, such as the embedding of municipal heat planning in the overarching energy system and the feasibility of local strategies and national goals. Furthermore, the RLI team deals with methods of data management and knowledge transfer within the municipalities. Project results will be analyses for systematic and transparent energy research and heat planning.

Project period: December 2025 – November 2028

• Investigation of the interaction of municipal heat planning with the energy system
• Data Management in Municipal Heat Planning and Related Research Projects
• Knowledge transfer within municipalities
• Provision of online exchange formats and online presentation formats
• Initiation of face-to-face networking meetings between research projects within the framework of the funding call: from plan to turnaround