Operated through a public service delegation by Soccram, a local subsidiary of ENGIE Solutions, the Reims heating network provides heating and domestic hot water to the equivalent of 17,000 homes, mainly from the incineration of waste from the Centre de Valorisation Energétique (C.V.E) Remival and woodchips (shredded wood from logging residues, by-products from the wood industry).

The current rate of renewable energy and energy recovery (ReR&R) of 60%, which the project to integrate recovered wood will bring to 90% by 2024. For this, it is necessary to adapt the existing boiler room. 2,500 additional housing equivalents will benefit from this renewable heat at the end of 2022, as the Châtillons district will soon be connected to the network.

In total, from 2024, the equivalent of 20,000 homes will benefit from this heating and domestic hot water solution.

To green the urban heating and cooling network, ENGIE Solutions is deploying its expertise, in particular by removing coal from the energy mix and by integrating wood biomass, ultimately up to 46%. The circular economy is favored by the use of wood from the region, from waste collection centers, demolitions or salvage from industries and businesses.

The addition of recovered wood, from furniture and construction waste, among the sources of heat production in the Greater Reims network, has many advantages:

• Definitively put an end to coal and thus go from an EnR&R rate of 60 to 90% by dividing CO₂ emissions by six.
• Continue to develop the network by offering renewable heat to ever more users, in particular by connecting the Châtillons district, i.e. 2,500 additional homes.
• Propose to the Reims territory a solution for the recovery of recovered wood, a local waste which will offer a second use by becoming a source of heat production for housing, municipal buildings and offices.
• Continue the development and greening of the network by favoring local production sources and promoting the circular economy: the wood chips currently used on the production site come from a radius of around 100 km, a local supply that the stakeholders wish to conserve as part of the integration of reclaimed wood.
• Guarantee control of the price of heat for subscribers to the Grand Reims heating network.