Decarbonising heat is one of Europe’s most urgent and least solved climate challenges. While electricity production has rapidly shifted toward low-carbon sources, space heating and industrial heat remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels. In countries with cold climates, district heating systems represent both a major source of emissions and a powerful opportunity for change.
This whitepaper summarises an independent life-cycle assessment (LCA) conducted by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland on the LDR-50 nuclear district heating reactor. The study evaluates the full life-cycle carbon footprint of nuclear heat from fuel supply and plant construction to operation and decommissioning, and compares it to fossil fuels, bioenergy, electric heating, and heat pumps.