24 October, 15:30 - 18:00

Visit to the sustainable urban development area ‘Erlenmatt’

One of the last construction land reserves in the densely populated area of Basel, a former freight yard is being turned into a sustainable and energy-efficient community. Since 1998 the 19 ha area has been turned into the neighbourhood ‘Erlenmatt’, including 1.400 apartments, offices and business areas, over 5ha of green spaces as well as a  school and kindergarten. 

The entire area is connected to 100% carbon-neutral long-distance heating and warm water, mostly generated through a waste-to-energy incineration plant as well as a wood power plant. Many of the green roofs of Erlenmatt are equipped with photo-voltaic panels. The neighbourhood is well connected to public transport; walking and cycling in general are encouraged and incentivised, whereas motorised individual traffic in the area is restricted.

Erlenmatt West was awarded the national label of “2000-Watt-Area” for the planning and finalised phases, making Erlenmatt West the first area to be realised according to the standards of the 2000 Watt Society of Switzerland. 

25 October, 16:00 - 18:00

Option 1. Green Industry Park: Climate protection and energy efficiency in Freiburg’s largest industrial area

As part of the “Green Industry Park Freiburg” initiative – GIP for short – Freiburg’s oldest and largest industrial area (with 300 ha of space, 500 businesses, and roughly 12,000 employees) is set to be developed into an advanced, sustainable, energy- and resource-efficient industrial space to serve as a model for the entire country. The large-scale project was kicked-off in 2014 by the City of Freiburg, the city's economic promotion office Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe (FWTM), regional energy service provider Badenova, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE). 

This transformation involves the networking of committed companies and individual company solutions, the joint development of new, innovative projects and pilot projects, as well as the identification and utilization of potential savings, cooperation and optimization in the field of environmental and climate protection. A waste heat network in the district is now being implemented through urban development around the exhibition centre and airport. Existing facilities and newly planned buildings have been using the available industrial waste heat for heating purposes since 2018 – conventional central heating systems and the use of fossil fuels are no longer required.

The tour will be undertaken by bus and stop several times. One of the stops will be at Pfizer, where the sustainable energy concept of the building will be explained.

Option 2. Former Landfill ‘Eichelbuck’: From waste mountain to energy mountain

Between 1972 and 2005, the City of Freiburg and the administrative district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald have delivered about 6,5mil tons of non-recyclable waste to the ‘Eichelbuck’ landfill. In 2005 the site got closed due to new laws and Freiburg's waste has been burned in the "TREA Breisgau" ever since. The ‘Eichelbuck’ landfill has since been in a "re-cultivation" phase to be concluded in 2020. 

Beginning already in its active time, gas from the landfill has been suctioned off and been transported to a combined heat and power unit in the Landwasser neighbourhood. About 1000 households are fed with power and heating this way. As less and less gas is available since the closing of the landfill, the supply is now being substituted with biogas. In 2011 Freiburg's biggest photovoltaic system has been installed on the south-west side of the hill that is the former landfill, delivering 2.600MWh annually. 

In a new project to be completed in 2019, and supported by the state Baden-Württemberg and local energy provider Badenova, Freiburg’s 12.000t compostable waste are going to be efficiently transformed into energy, vegetable charcoal and compost. 

Option 3. THERMOS study visit to ‘Gutleutmatten’

Participants are invited to join THERMOS partners for a site visit to one of Freiburg’s most important urban development projects: ‘Gutleutmatten’. The planned quarter is to provide homes and infrastructure, including heating and cooling, for 1200-1300 citizens including kindergartens and other community institutions on inner Freiburg’s largest remaining free development area.