As from 5 April 2022, Fraîcheur de Paris, a jointly-owned company by ENGIE (85%) and RATP (15%), will become the urban cooling network operator for the city of Paris. The 20-year concession will cover the production, storage, transport and distribution of the city’s cooling energy. With a projected turnover of €2.4bn throughout the life of the contract, the network will be extended by 158 km to serve new clients in all Paris arrondissements by 2042. This ambitious project forms part of the city’s approach to decarbonisation and adapting to climate change, offering a sustainable and competitive alternative to traditional air-conditioning solutions.
An unprecedented project to make the cooling network accessible to as many Parisians as possible
Operated since 1991 by CLIMESPACE (a wholly-owned ENGIE subsidiary) and initially intended to air-condition commercial buildings (cultural sites and retail areas), the new network will be extended to include cooling for hospitals, nurseries, schools, nursing homes, etc., covering 300 additional healthcare buildings. The cooling distributed will thus help meet the challenge of protecting the most vulnerable populations in a context of global warming. The service will also be aimed at local shops, establishments open to the public, and - additionally - a few housing units in the residential sector.
This largest cooling network in Europe, it will almost triple in size over 20 years: 20 new production plants and 10 storage facilities will be built to supply over 3,000 users.
An increasingly efficient, resilient and eco-friendly public service
The city of Paris cooling network has been running on 100% renewable electricity since 2013 and has been carbon-neutral since 2018. With its extension to the whole of Paris, it will increase its contribution to the city’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
Over the lifetime of the concession, 300,000 metric tonnes de CO2 emissions will be abated, by:
- running on 100% renewable electricity produced in France, of which nearly 70% will be supplied from 4 new dedicated solar farms;
- a reduction in users’ energy consumption of more than 20% (compared with a traditional air-conditioning solution);
- an improvement in the efficiency of production tools of more than 15% (average targeted improvement) in particular through innovative processes that consume less (increased use of water from the river Seine in winter) and the use of artificial intelligence;
- use of materials, technologies and coolants that are more environmentally friendly;
- greening of an urban area of 5,000 m2(production plants and streets during major construction work);
- 130,000 m³ of water saved each year through collection of seepage water that will be used in the cooling process.
A social and societal commitment
On average, Fraîcheur de Paris will support the equivalent of 850 jobs in Paris and 2,200 in the Île-de-France region (direct, indirect and induced jobs) each year.
In addition, following in the footsteps of CLIMESPACE, Fraîcheur de Paris will make commitments on health and safety at work, reducing gender inequality in the workplace, fostering diversity and promoting vocational integration.
A vision shared by two of the city’s major players
ENGIE Group and RATP Group are playing their part in building a city for tomorrow, a modern, sustainable, inclusive city.
The world’s leading operator of cooling networks, ENGIE Group brings its first-rate expertise in network development and operation as well as its experience as a concession holder serving the city of Paris for 30 years with CLIMESPACE. The new concession will also benefit from RATP Group’s expertise, through its RATP Solutions Ville subsidiary, in the management of underground networks and key areas for the construction of new cooling plants and storage facilities.
ENGIE’s CEO Catherine MacGregor said: “We are very proud that the city of Paris has once again shown its trust in us with this major contract. This is also a recognition of the expertise developed by ENGIE’s teams over the past 30 years, our commitment working alongside cities in the ecological transition and our ambition to develop decentralised low-carbon infrastructure. Alongside RATP Group, with which we are pleased to be partnering, ENGIE is confirming once again its position as a global leader in cooling networks, the most efficient solution to meet cooling needs in urban areas.”
Catherine Guillouard, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of RATP Group, said: “This new contract, which is a major victory for RATP Group and its subsidiary RATP Solutions Ville, shows the value of our global services offer for smart, sustainable cities. Through this contract, we will provide expertise in underground networks for our partner ENGIE. The whole group is mobilised to ensure this contract is a success and best serves the city of Paris, which has placed its trust in us.”
Key information
CLIMESPACE: City of Paris concession holder and wholly-owned ENGIE subsidiary, which has been operating and developing the city of Paris cooling network since 1991. 10 production sites and 4 storage sites provide around 440 GWh/year of cooling for over 780 buildings via a 93 km network.
Fraîcheur de Paris: The company that has been awarded the concession from April 2022: a consortium of ENGIE Energie Services, CLIMESPACE and RATP ENGIE Group: 85% RATP Group: 15% Turnover: €2.4bn projected over the lifetime of the contract (without inflation or additional services) By 2042: An additional 158 km of network |
