Enabling Data Economy for DHC Applications Through Dataspaces

Digitalization enables innovative applications in district heating and cooling (DHC), supporting decarbonization and sector integration. These applications rely heavily on data, making the shift toward a data economy a logical next step. A data economy would let stakeholders collect, share, and monetize data, encouraging sustainable innovation. However, limited data availability, interoperability challenges, and unclear business models present key barriers. A potential solution may be dataspaces, which promote collaboration, innovation, and regulatory compliance while protecting sensitive data. This study presents DHC use cases showing how dataspaces can enhance operational flexibility, improve interoperability, and unlock new business value, offering a path to overcome digitalization challenges in the DHC sector.