The cross-border project UNITED HEAT, a cooperation between Stadtwerke Görlitz (SWG AG) and the Polish heat supplier SEC Zgorzelec, is gaining momentum. On December 2, the Mayor of Görlitz, Octavian Ursu, invited high-ranking representatives of the project to the Görlitz City Hall, including his counterpart Rafal Gronicz, Mayor of Zgorzelec, as well as the project partners from Veolia Germany and E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions. A declaration of intent was signed for the establishment of a joint company.
Decarbonised district heating across national borders – Görlitz and its Polish sister city Zgorzelec want to make this vision a reality by 2030. Stadtwerke Görlitz, a subsidiary of the Veolia Group and the city of Görlitz, and the Polish district heating supplier SEC Zgorzelec, a subsidiary of E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions, are significantly involved in the planning. Their UNITED HEAT project combines diverse resources and innovative generation technologies for a future, decarbonized and resilient heat supply in the European city of Görlitz/Zgorzelec. To this end, both cities in central Europe want to network their district heating infrastructure with each other and switch completely to renewable energy sources by 2030.
The example of the European City shows how municipalities are taking the path towards a CO2-free energy supply and thus making a substantial contribution to the energy transition and climate protection. The potential is particularly great in the heating sector, which is responsible for a large part of CO2 emissions. Mayor Octavian Ursu emphasised: “UNITED HEAT is more than an infrastructure project – it is a symbol of successful European cooperation. Görlitz and Zgorzelec are writing energy history here.”
In a joint meeting with the boards of Stadtwerke Görlitz and SEC Zgorzelec as well as high-ranking representatives of the international corporations Veolia and E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions, the progress and next steps of the cross-border heating project were discussed. Particularly pleasing: The project with European appeal has received two more important confirmations in recent weeks. In October 2025, both companies received the commitment of the European Commission for the full approval of the funding under the CEF-CB-RES program in the amount of 18.8 million euros. This is already the third funding application that has been approved by the EU as part of the UNITED HEAT project. The EU has already pledged a total of 38 million euros in funding. In March 2026, the project partners plan to submit the next and probably last application to the EU. In addition, BAFA has pledged funding of 81.6 million euros for investments on the German side as part of the Federal Programme for Efficient Heating Networks (BEW).
Matthias Block, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Stadtwerke Görlitz AG, emphasizes: “We are proud that our hard work on decarbonization is bearing fruit. The renewed funding commitments from the EU and BAFA confirm the importance of our project and motivate us to continue the implementation at full speed, for the benefit of the population.”
The project partners have been working on the project for over five years. The plan is to cross the border between Zgorzelec and the Görlitz Königshufen generation site with a 3.8-kilometre-long pipeline. The four individual district heating areas in Görlitz are also to be connected, so that a total of twelve kilometers of interconnector is created. This not only creates synergies, but also opens up new opportunities for customers: New houses can be connected to the district heating network along the planned district heating route, replacing old heating systems with modern, climate-neutral generation technologies. On both sides of the Neisse, new plants are being built at different locations that generate 100 percent heat from renewable energy sources. The associated savings amount to almost 50,000 tons of CO2 per year. In the future, the heat will be generated by means of solar thermal energy with seasonal storage, heat recovery from lake water and wastewater, biomass boilers as well as waste heat and power-to-heat systems. The individual technologies are networked with each other in such a way that they complement each other optimally and ensure a stable, cross-border, climate-neutral heat supply all year round.
After the concept phase, the construction phase is now beginning: The participating companies are working flat out on the implementation and decarbonisation of the heat supply in the German-Polish border region. This year, an important milestone has already been reached – “In the summer, we started the construction of our biomass plant, and thus the decarbonization of our heat,” says Grzegorz Bicki, Managing Director of SEC Zgorzelec Sp.z.o.o. On the German side, the first construction phase will start in the spring: the first of a total of twelve planned kilometres of the cross-border heating network.
Around 30 highly specialized specialists from different countries contribute their diverse skills and work together to realize this forward-looking project. This international cooperation reflects the European spirit of the project and is internationally appreciated. At this year’s “Veolia Innovation and Development Days” in Brussels, the UNITED HEAT project was awarded the coveted award in the category “External Partnership on Innovative Topic”.
Michel Cunnac, Head of the Water/Energy Business Unit at Veolia Germany, had the honour of accepting the award on behalf of the entire project team and ceremoniously handing it over to the project group in Görlitz on 2 December – a special moment for all involved. “Above all, the cross-border cooperation makes UNITED HEAT something special: a unique example of European cooperation in the energy sector. In addition, there is the intelligent combination of forward-looking, replicable renewable technologies,” says Michel Cunnac.
During the meeting at Görlitz City Hall on December 2, another significant milestone was reached: Both companies signed a letter of intent for the establishment of a joint venture. This company is to build and operate the cross-border pipeline. “UNITED HEAT impressively shows how partnership cooperation in Europe leads to groundbreaking results across national borders. The project sets standards for how a customer-oriented CO2-reduced energy supply can be implemented and, as a European lighthouse project, will serve as a model for many other initiatives.””, says Marten Bunnemann, CEO of E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions. In the coming weeks, this project will be intensively examined for feasibility. Different legal situations, regulations, as well as antitrust law aspects must be analyzed in detail. But by signing the document, all partners are once again emphasizing their close partnership.
Stefan Grützmacher, CEO of Veolia Holding Deutschland GmbH, praised the commitment of all project participants: “UNITED HEAT is not only a prime example of Veolia’s GreenUP strategy, but is the practical implementation of Veolia’s innovative new “Ecothermal Grid” offering, which is based on a comprehensive approach to a climate-neutral urban heat supply by decarbonizing existing networks and building new district heating infrastructures. It is symbolic of what becomes possible when cities, countries and companies work together on a sustainable future.”
With the UNITED HEAT project, both cities and their district heating suppliers are taking on a pioneering role in Europe. “With the groundbreaking decision in 2020 to set out together on the path to a cross-border district heating supply, we as the European City of Görlitz/Zgorzelec have taken on a pioneering role from which our citizens on both sides of the Neisse benefit,” says Rafal Gronicz, Mayor of Zgorzelec.
Stadtwerke Görlitz AG is part of the Veolia Group, the leading international company for environmental services. Through Veolia Environnement Lausitz GmbH, Veolia holds 74.9 percent of the shares in the municipal utilities in Görlitz. Görlitzer Stadtwerke supplies around 60,000 people in the region with drinking water, electricity, natural gas and district heating and disposes of their wastewater.
In addition, they are responsible for the city lighting. As a service partner of the Rothenburg/O.L. wastewater association, the municipal utilities are also responsible for cleaning the wastewater of a further 8,500 inhabitants.
In Germany, the Veolia Group also owns shares in Stadtwerke Weißwasser, BS|ENERGY Braunschweiger Versorgungs-AG und Co. KG, MIDEWA Wasserversorgungsgesellschaft in Mitteldeutschland mbH (Merseburg headquarters), TVF Waste Solutions GmbH
and OTWA Ostthüringer Wasser und Abwasser GmbH (Gera headquarters).
More information at www.stadtwerke-goerlitz.de and www.veolia.de
Signing of the letter of intent for the establishment of a joint venture.
From left to right: Peter Starre – Deputy Chairman of the Board of Stadtwerke Görlitz AG; Octavian Ursu – Lord Mayor of the City of Görlitz; Matthias Block – Chairman of the Board of Stadtwerke Görlitz AG; Jörn-Erik Mantz – Chairman of the Board of Management of E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions Polska Sp. z o.o.; Rafal Gronicz – Mayor of the City of Zgorzelec; Adam Palacz – Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions Polska Sp. z o.o.
Photo: Nikolai Schmidt