ProjectZero

The district heating system plays a central role, as it provides heating and hot water while integrating different renewable and local energy sources.

This flexibility makes it possible to push fossil fuels out of the energy mix.

To eliminate the remaining CO₂, Sønderborg is focusing on electrification and on making better use of excess heat from industry.

Unfold the full story

As the world grows, new urban areas are being developed all over the world. How they are constructed is an important factor in the green transition.

The new city area of Linde Haven in Sønderborg is built to meet the highest sustainability standards, particularly in terms of energy efficiency.

The energy-efficient design of the buildings allows Linde Haven to be supplied by low-temperature district heating, which has the potential to reduce distribution heat loss by an estimated 31 % compared to similar buildings operating at normal temperatures.

Reducing energy consumption in the heavy industry is central to a sustainable transition of the energy sector.

For the past 30 years, Vesterled brickworks has been one of Denmark’s most energy efficient brick plants. Vesterled is part of the Wienerberger Group, and has worked strategically to improve sustanability in their entire value chain.

Vesterled brick plant is on the path to carbon neutrality. The factory has reduced their energy consumption by 15 % by improving energy efficiency, reusing heat and designing a new brick.

Explore the full story behind Vesterled

Sønderborg Municipality stretches partly across the island of Als, making ferry transport crucial for connecting it to the mainland and neighboring islands.

Ferry travel has traditionally left a significant carbon footprint, but one by one, the old diesel ferries are being replaced with electric ones.

These electric ferries significantly cut CO₂ emissions and air pollution around Als, and will hopefully send green waves across the world.

Hop on board for the full story

Twelve supermarkets in the Sønderborg area have chopped their CO₂ emissions by an impressive 81 % since 2012.

And they’re not stopping there. They continue to test, innovate, and improve every day, with one supermarket even featuring a fully integrated test center.

The technologies and installations behind this success are fully scalable, from the smallest local store to the largest hypermarket.

Step inside the supermarket of the future

Danfoss is Denmark’s largest industrial company and develops advanced solutions for energy efficiency, including heat pumps, refrigeration technology, motor controls, hydraulic systems, and energy-efficient components for industry, construction, and the transport sector.

In 2022, the Nordborg factory became carbon neutral by adopting available solutions and significantly reducing its energy use. It also demonstrates how factories can integrate with the local energy grid, lowering energy costs for the community while cutting natural gas consumption.

Read the full story behind the factory site

Kløver-/Hvedemarken is a social housing area that has served as a testbed for several energy-saving initiatives.

Built in the late 1960s, the neighborhood showcases how older housing areas can be transformed into highly energy-efficient communities, fully adapted to today’s climate challenges.

Since 2003, the blocks have undergone an ongoing energy renovation to reduce heat consumption, lower energy costs, and improve indoor climate comfort — contributing to greater efficiency, lower emissions, and more affordable living.

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Two modern heat pumps have been installed at Sønderborg Hospital.

This might sound like a small update, but it’s actually a big deal. A real gamechanger.

The heat pumps bring a range of major benefits.

Top of the list? They push fossil fuels out of the picture – and not just for Sønderborg Hospital, but for the neighbours too.

Unfold the hospital story

The green transition of agriculture is a global challenge. But in Gråsten, a working farm has already shown what the future can look like.

Here, every part of the operation – from energy use to crop management and livestock production – is designed with the green transition at its core.

Gråsten Agricultural College demonstrates how a modern farm can produce both food and energy, and they pass this way of thinking on to all their students.

Visit a farm unlike any other

Since the 1980s, Denmark has been turning manure and other organic by-products into energy, and today biogas supplies a large share of the country’s gas network.

In fact, no other country in Europe has a higher share of biogas in its gas grid, and the ambition is to replace all fossil gas with biogas in the near future.

In Sønderborg, that future has already arrived.

Today, Sønderborg produces enough biogas to meet the area’s entire annual gas demand. This makes renewable gas available where it creates the greatest value: in industrial processes that are difficult to electrify.

Root around in the world of biogas

When biogas is produced, organic waste – such as manure – is collected in a large, sealed tank. Inside the tank, bacteria break down the material, producing biogas.

Biogas consists of about 60 % methane and 40 % CO₂.

The methane can be sent through the gas grid and used for high-temperature industrial processes, such as firing bricks in brickworks or melting glass in glass factories.

But what if you could increase the methane content from 60 % to as much as 90 %, producing more energy from the same amount of manure?

You can with Power-to-Gas.

Learn how Power-to-Gas works