Enerdrape and ENGIE Solutions via its subsidiary CIEC have just inaugurated an innovative installation for heat recovery without drilling, thanks to geothermal panels placed in the basement of a Paris Habitat residence. In another significant cleantech milestone, BE WTR and Rosewood Abu Dhabi are partnering to launch Abu Dhabi's first circular, automatic, water bottling plant at Rosewood Abu Dhabi.
A France First for Enerdrape in Paris
Emmanuelle Copin, Deputy Managing Director in charge of proximity and quality of service at Paris Habitat, Yann Rolland, Managing Director Managing Director of ENGIE Solutions and Margaux Peltier, co-founder of Enerdrape, just inaugurated an innovative installation for heat recovery without drilling, thanks to geothermal panels placed in the basement of a residence. The unprecedented installation of 145 panels over 145 m2 to supply 72 homes in the 11th arrondissement of Paris with sustainable domestic hot water makes this initiative the first of its kind in France.
The Paris Habitat installation will generate 70 MWh each year, or about 25% of the hot water for these homes, which is equivalent to the output of solar thermal panels. This innovation thus offers a sustainable and efficient energy supply solution for residents while reducing the carbon footprint of the buildings concerned by avoiding the equivalent of 15 tons of CO2 per year.
The solution developed by Enerdrape makes it possible, thanks to a drilling-free installation, to install wall panels to capture the still unexploited geothermal potential of underground environments such as car parks, tunnels or subways in urban areas, or of already excavated surfaces.
The panels are installed on surfaces in contact with the ground, such as the walls of a car park, to recover heat. A hydraulic network connects the panels to a water/water heat pump or other equivalent energy system. The heat recovered is then used to supply the system that produces hot water for sanitary use and/or heating in the housing units. Approved by Enerdrape, CIEC proceeded with the installation of the geothermal panels. The installation work, which began in October, lasted three months and required a budget of 100,000. In the future, other similar installations could be deployed by Paris Habitat.
"Paris Habitat, as a social landlord, seeks to implement solutions that will help control our tenants' energy expenses and decarbonize our facilities when technically possible. The project proposed by CIEC and Enerdrape for an initial installation in France immediately appealed to us: the main advantage of this solution is that it uses geothermal energy without drilling into the ground. The proposed geothermal panels also make for a less invasive construction site by being installed on the vertical walls of underground car parks with maintaining access to parking spaces during the work. The expected gains in terms of energy savings and ease of installation make it a solution to be considered every time we consider hybridizing our gas boilers," explains Emmanuelle Copin, Deputy Managing Director in charge of proximity and quality of service at Paris Habitat.
BE WTR inaugurates Abu Dhabi's first circular bottling plant
In an another major launch event, which took place at Majlis by Pierre Hermé in Rosewood Abu Dhabi, Mike Hecker, CEO & Founder of Vaud based Cleantech scale-up BE WTR, and Remus Palimaru, Managing Director of Rosewood Abu Dhabi, led the ribbon-cutting ceremony, unveiling the BiG 1500, a fully automated, state of the art glass bottling designed to support a zero-waste, plastic-free future, saving more than 1,000 tonnes of CO annually.
In the keynote speech, Mike Hecker, CEO & Founder of BE WTR stated: " We are very proud to inaugurate Abu Dhabi's first circular bottling plant. It is a testament to our commitment to innovation and sustainability. Our BiG 1500 system, capable of producing up to 1,500 bottles of locally sourced, filtered water per hour, ensures that guests receive the highest quality still or sparkling water while significantly reducing environmental impact. This technology embodies our vision for a zero-waste, plastic-free future in the hospitality industry."
Located within Rosewood Abu Dhabi, the facility will provide locally sourced still and sparkling water to Rosewood Abu Dhabi on Al Maryah Island, eliminating the carbon footprint associated with transporting bottled water over long distances. The move directly supports the UAE's Net Zero by 2050 strategy and its push toward a circular economy.
The newly installed BE WTR BiG 1500 purifies, filters and bottles local water at a rate of 1,500 bottles per hour with no human contact, thus guaranteeing the highest standards of hygiene and quality. Serving food and beverage outlets as well as halls and banquets, the impact is expected to amount to 1.5 million single-use plastic bottles per year and a saving of over 1,000 tons of CO2 per year by reducing transport-related emissions and providing reusable glass bottles that can be refilled over 300 times.
