How Seville is keeping cool with renewable energy and smart urban planning
Seville, Spain is known as a city that faces challenges with summer heat. Across Europe, localities like Seville are experiencing more frequent and more intense heatwaves, making a case for the need to innovate new energy solutions that can create cooler, safer public spaces while also reducing energy demand.
Beneath a local park in Seville, COSMIC has installed a network of massive Earth-Air and Water-Air heat exchangers that are able to cool outdoor air before releasing it back to the surface. Powered by solar energy, the system takes inspiration from ancient Persian qanat, or underground water transport systems, and combines this historical concept with modern renewable energy technology.
So far, the implementation in Seville is demonstrating that using such techniques can reduce temperatures in public spaces by up to 12 degrees Celcius during heat events, providing refuge for residents and visitors alike.
Developing and testing cooling technologies for public space is only the first step. What is also important is to share findings with the public. One of COSMIC’s researchers from University of Seville, Rafael Monge Palma has shared the Group Termotecnia findings from Seville with Swedish TV4 and the German news channel ZDF. Watch the coverage to see this exciting technology in action and how it could be applied to other urban areas.
Are you an innovator using AI and data to improve the energy sector? Then apply by 20 July to the COSMIC Open Call 2.
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