Project

A successful heat transition depends on the rapid implementation of municipal heat plans (Kommunale Wärmeplanung, KWP). Many towns and municipalities in Germany have fewer than 15,000 inhabitants – and face particular challenges as a result: a lack of planning and climate protection staff, financial constraints, limited data availability, and a fragmented local stakeholder landscape. KWIKK investigates:

• Which systemic, institutional, technical, and personnel-related hurdles do small municipalities face when implementing their heat plans?
• Which methods and tools do municipal actors need to derive concrete measures from municipal heat planning (KWP) and successfully implement them at the neighborhood level? Which participation formats and communication strategies are suitable for this purpose?
• Which best practice approach can be derived from the pilot measures and disseminated nationwide?

Small partner municipalities – Ettenheim, Michendorf, Nordwestuckermark, Plön and Barkauer Land – supported by three science partners, implement innovative measures to put their heat plans into practice. The aim is to identify success and failure factors, test concrete solutions as models, and derive transferable approaches for small municipalities nationwide

Fraunhofer ISI contributes its expertise on municipal heat planning (KWP), decision-making factors, and the monetary and non-monetary aspects of the energy transition as potential drivers or barriers – particularly with regard to the financing and financial participation of households – and presents various design components for grid-based heat supply while supporting the discussion of possible business models. It is responsible for supporting the development of financing and business models and examines the possibilities of joint tendering for decentralized solutions.

The specific research questions are:

• How can municipalities without their own municipal utility initiate the construction of a new heat network in an area identified as suitable by the KWP, when no operator is in sight?
• Which business and operator models enable the economically viable continued operation of existing heat networks when the previous heat source (biogas CHP) is discontinued after the expiry of EEG funding?

Which monetary and non-monetary factors (e.g., risk, participation rights, self-consumption) influence households' willingness to take part in joint tenders for heat pumps or in business models for heat networks?

Our methodological portfolio includes the analysis of obstacles and success factors through case studies, interviews or surveys, as well as literature and policy analyses.

In areas with decentralized heat supply, we support a jointly organized assessment of the heat pump suitability of existing buildings and joint procurement. For this, we use workshops, discussions with stakeholders, and, where appropriate, surveys.

In heat network areas, we support the development of suitable business and operator models – including the initiation of new networks where no operator currently exists and the continued operation of existing networks after the discontinuation of biogas EEG funding. This takes place within workshops, surveys, and stakeholder discussions.

By the end of the project, innovative solutions are to be implemented in the partner municipalities, or decisive steps toward their implementation initiated, further advancing the outcomes of the KWP. In addition, we aim to compile a digital action guide/toolbox with checklists, tools, and practical examples for small municipalities. To disseminate the knowledge gained, we plan at least five nationwide webinars as well as a final event for municipalities, science, and policy, presenting transferable best-practice examples for accelerating the municipal heat transition.

Specifically, Fraunhofer ISI contributes to the following results:

• An action guide module: options and decision-making support for initiating heat networks in the absence of an operator
• A decision tree and business models for the continued operation/development of (biogas) heat networks
• Identification of the possibilities, challenges, and advantages of joint tenders for heat pumps

Overall, we aim to produce scientific open-access publications on non-monetary obstacles/drivers in the establishment and continued operation of small heat networks, as well as on attractive design elements of financial participation models, including presentations at specialist conferences.

 June 2026 until February 2029

• Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE)

• Öko-Institut e.V - project coordination, scientific supervision
• Fraunhofer ISI - research partner, business and funding models
• neuland21 e.V - research partner, design of participatory processes
• Stadt Ettenheim - partner municipality
• Gemeinde Michendorf - partner municipality
• Gemeinde Nordwestuckermark - partner municipality
• Stadt Plön - partner municipality
• Bürgerverein Barkauer Land - associated partner