Rotselaar (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Rotselaar Mill will supply 9 homes with river-based heat. EXTRAQT designed the system, supported by Flemish Brabant (€150,000) under AquaCOM, reducing 29 tons of CO₂ annually.
As VRT News reported, at the historic Rotselaar Mill, in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium, a new energy system will soon supply 9 nearby homes with heating and hot water from the Dijle River. They mentioned that the homes will no longer need gas or fuel oil.
The mill, known as the place where Ecopower was founded, has been generating green electricity for years through hydropower. Now, it is taking the next step by producing green heat. The process, called aquathermics, collects heat from the river’s surface water and delivers it through a smart local network.
“‘It’s quite unique, but expensive,”
says Sebastian Baes, aquathermy expert and co-founder of EXTRAOT.
“Every resident needs to be convinced to invest in this new, sustainable system, which also has a very different price tag than heating cheaply with gas.”
What is Rotselaar Mill’s plan to heat 9 homes using river power?
The system was technically designed by the company EXTRAQT, which specialises in renewable energy solutions. It also reuses heat from the hydropower plant at the mill. The installation is expected to cut carbon emissions by 29 tons per year, equal to the effect of about 300 solar panels.
“The heat comes from the Dile River via a heat exchanger and is converted by heat pumps running on local green energy,”
Baes continues.
The new heating scheme at the Rotselaar Mill is part of AquaCOM, a European programme featuring partners from 5 different countries. Experts and local governments collaborate in this programme to share knowledge and produce systems that mitigate gas and fuel oil usage.
The Province of Flemish Brabant was supportive of the project by investing €150,000, and helped to find European funding. The province has stated that aquathermy is environmentally friendly and economically beneficial by making fewer emissions and reducing energy reliance.
Residents joined the project voluntarily, and Ecopower, as a cooperative, manages the system with openness and community involvement. Authorities stress that government support is still needed to make such systems affordable. All 9 homes are expected to be connected to the new aquathermy network by December 2025.
The heating project at the Rotselaar Mill is part of AquaCOM, a European Interreg North-West Europe program that started on July 1, 2023 and will run until June 30, 2027. The program supports community energy projects in Belgium, France, and the Netherlands that use heat from surface water.
The Rotselaar Mill serves as Belgium’s pilot site, where Ecopower combines heat from the Dijle River with the mill’s hydropower to produce renewable energy. An information meeting for residents and users was held on 7 March 2024 to explain the project and its future steps.
