Wien Energie is further expanding its district cooling network. Under the new campus of the Medical University, the eighth large district cooling centre was put into operation today. For the first time, an ice storage tank was also installed.
Wien Energie CEO Michael Strebl spoke of a “milestone” at a media event and referred to the rapidly increasing number of tropical nights in Austria. Between 1960 and 1991, according to Strebl, there were an average of 1.6 tropical nights a year – i.e. nights in which temperatures do not drop below 20 degrees. In the 30 years that followed, there were already 6.2 tropical nights per year; in 2024, then around 50, he emphasised the benefits of district cold generation. At the same time, district heating also helps to curb climate change, as it causes half the CO₂ of conventional cooling systems.
District cooling as an island grid
An additional ice storage system makes the new system particularly efficient: The refrigeration systems can run more evenly as a result. Cold that is not needed, which is produced at night, for example, can be stored in the form of a block of ice and used for cooling at peak times.
What does a giant “ice cube” do underground?
Wien Energie is further expanding its district cooling network. Under the new campus of the Medical University, the eighth large district cooling centre was put into operation today. For the first time, an ice storage tank was also installed.
The new plant also closes a gap between the district cold ring around Vienna’s city centre and the district cooling network that connects the plant in Spittelau with the AKH hospital. “District cooling is now roughly in the situation in which district heating was just a few decades ago,” says Strebl. “So, it’s an island grid where the islands are now growing together and a large, interconnected grid is being created.”
APA/Roland SchlagerIn stated in summer the demand for cooling is particularly high in the afternoon
The cost of the new plant is estimated at 22 million euros. By 2030, a total of 90 million euros will be invested in the district cooling network. The largest customer for the new facility will be MedUni itself in the future, explained Christine Dornaus, Managing Director of the Federal Real Estate Company (BIG). Since the university laboratories are also cooled at night, they put a lot of strain on the system even outside peak times. According to Volkan Talazoglu, Vice-Rector for Finance at MedUni, the new campus will house around 750 employees and 2,000 students from 2027.