Veterinary Medicine gets a thermal energy storage system
A thermal energy storage system (TESS) will be installed at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in the second half of 2024. The project has a planned start of work in June. Together with the contractor, the plan will be worked out. A TESS in the eastern area of the campus will connect the buildings of the Veterinary Medicine faculty to this sustainable energy source.
Accessibility guaranteed
The pipeline for the ATES system will be laid under Yalelaan. This is the only place where there is still room for the pipe. Besides, at this location, there will be no impact on the trees on either side of the Yalelaan. This does mean that this road will have to be opened in parts. In the coming period, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Real Estate & Campus and the contractor will draw up a plan for carrying out the work. This will include an inventory of what needs to be considered during implementation. Questions such as how patients reach the clinics, how to provide sufficient parking facilities, how to limit noise pollution and how to communicate diversions will be answered there. For this, for example, the logistics of the faculty and clinics are mapped out and appropriate solutions for accessibility are sought.
Heat and cold storage
Utrecht University is connecting more and more of its buildings to a thermal energy storage system (TESS). This installation cools and heats the connected buildings with water from underground constructed basins. The system is 100% sustainable. Several buildings have already been connected to the TESS and more are in the pipeline. By connecting more and more buildings to this underground network, the university is taking big steps towards becoming a CO2-neutral university in 2030. Want to know more about how a TESS works and what it is? Read more about it here.
Ambitions
Utrecht University wants to make a maximum contribution to solving the climate problem and aims to be CO2-neutral by 2030. By reducing its energy consumption, optimal use of fossil fuels and the transition to a 100% sustainable energy supply, the university can achieve the energy targets within its sustainability ambition. Constructing a TESS is part of Utrecht University's Energy Strategy.