The European Commission has committed €81.4 million through the Connecting Europe Facility to support two cross-border district heating projects combining biomass energy with renewable heat infrastructure in Central Europe.
The funding addresses district heating decarbonisation on the German-Polish border, where coal-dependent heating systems are being replaced with biomass-fired capacity and complementary renewable heat sources.
The first project receives €70 million to connect and decarbonise district heating systems serving Görlitz, Germany, and Zgorzelec, Poland. The initiative involves construction of a cross-border pipeline linking the two cities' district heating networks.
In Zgorzelec, a 25 MW biomass heating plant is under construction. The project also includes a solar thermal installation with capacity around 5 MWp and a 3,000 cubic metre heat storage tank to integrate different renewable heat sources.
In Görlitz, a 5 MW biomass heating plant is planned alongside a 2.5 MW sewage heat recovery facility. District heating pipelines will connect key city areas to the broader network.
The project received cross-border renewable energy status in 2022 and has progressed through feasibility studies and design phases since then. The current funding supports the final construction and pipeline connection stage.
The second project receives €11.41 million to phase out coal-fired heating in Słubice, Poland, and begin decarbonising Frankfurt (Oder), Germany's district heating system.
The scheme involves replacing existing coal-generation capacity in Słubice with two biomass boilers, each rated at 6 MW thermal capacity. This conversion eliminates reliance on coal whilst maintaining district heating supply across the cross-border region.
The project supports the transition from fossil fuel heating to renewable biomass-based district energy, enabling both municipalities to meet European Union decarbonisation objectives.
Both projects integrate biomass combustion with complementary renewable heat sources—solar thermal and sewage heat recovery—demonstrating a broader shift toward diversified renewable heating systems in European district energy infrastructure.
The cross-border component strengthens energy security and cooperation between EU member states.
