Marketers are often blamed for fueling overconsumption, and, by extension, for adding to to climate change. But as Marketing and Communications Manager at Steady Energy, my motivation is to promote a solution that can genuinely reshape the world for the better – without fossil fuels.
Here’s the problem we’re solving.
As cities race to meet climate targets, attention has centered on renewable electricity and cleaner transportation. But there's another challenge, much more invisible: urban heating. In cold-climate countries, heating remains one of the biggest sources of emissions. In Europe, heating and cooling account for nearly half of the total energy consumption generating over one-third of Europe’s energy-related emissions.
We talk about electric cars, wind farms, and solar rooftops – which are all great, but if cities fail to decarbonize heating, the fossil era will simply never end.
The European Union has successfully lowered its greenhouse gas emissions, but at the current rate of reduction, it may fall short of meeting its climate goals for 2040 and 2050.
Nuclear-based solutions can make it possible to eliminate the CO₂ emissions from heating once and for all - and help cities and the EU reach their climate targets faster.
Why Heat Is the Final Frontier of Decarbonization
Warm showers, a cozy night by the radiator. Heat is the hidden luxury. Yet, the global climate conversation is dominated by electricity and mobility.
Yet, heating remains:
- Massive in scale – In cold climates, heating accounts for up to 50% of energy demand. Electricity accounts for about 20-25%.
- A necessity – Everyone needs it, but it hasn’t gained as much attention as electricity. According to Eurostat, in 2023, 10.6% of the European Union’s population struggled to keep their homes warm. This adds not only to the need to decarbonize heating, but also to make it more affordable and reliable.
- Hard to decarbonize – Unlike electricity, there hasn’t been a single “silver bullet.” Biomass, heat pumps, and hydrogen all come with their own struggles.
- The last big fossil lock-in – Cities are still running on natural gas and coal because there hasn’t been a suitable alternative that’s clean, reliable, and scalable.
The clean energy transition isn’t complete until we solve heating.
Getting Rid of Imported Fossil Fuels While Expanding District Heating Networks
Despite fluctuating winter conditions and increasingly volatile heat demand, district heating networks across Europe have continued to expand, highlighting a growing gap between infrastructure growth and reliable heat supply. Looking ahead to the next five years, this growth is set to accelerate. In countries with the greatest potential, such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Poland, governments plan to connect more than 8.5 million new households to district heating networks in order to meet European energy and climate targets. District heating is well known to be the fastest and most efficient way to net-zero – but only if we choose the right energy sources.
Yet for many cities across Eastern Europe, heating remains heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels. In 2023, nearly half of the energy used in European district heating came from coal, oil, and natural gas. This dependence isn’t just an environmental concern; it’s a security risk. In 2023, the EU still relied on imported fossil gas for 90% of its needs, with over a third used for heating and cooling. Events like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have shown just how vulnerable this makes cities and industries alike. As the Member of the European Parliament, Sigrid Friis, put it: ‘’We are tasked with decarbonizing during a time of geopolitical instability. Amidst the turbulence, we also need to secure our energy supply.’’
Transitioning away from coal and natural gas has proven challenging. While biomass is often adopted as a cleaner alternative, it comes with significant limitations: low energy density, supply chain vulnerabilities, and environmental concerns, making it a less viable long-term solution.
This is where nuclear heat stands out. Its appeal lies in what it doesn’t produce: carbon emissions. By providing reliable, large-scale heat without relying on fossil fuels, nuclear energy offers a path to decarbonize urban heating while supporting the expansion of district heating networks.
Nuclear Heating Offers Ultra-Low Emissions and Ultra-High Security
While nuclear energy is not labeled as renewable, its environmental impact is remarkably low. A VTT (Technical Research Center of Finland) study found that the life cycle CO₂ emissions of heat produced with the LDR-50 reactor were just 2.4 grams per kilowatt-hour (gCO₂eq/kWh). That’s equivalent to offshore wind!
To put that in more context:
- Natural gas produces ~282 gCO₂eq/kWh of CO₂ emissions
- Coal ~515 gCO₂eq/kWh
- Wood chips ~50 gCO₂eq/kWh
- Heat pumps (in countries with dirty electricity) 70–200+ gCO₂eq/kWh
Even biofuels, often seen as a “green” option, had 5–20 times higher emissions than the LDR-50 when their full life cycle was included.
This makes SMR-based district heating one of the cleanest available options for cities aiming to decarbonize.
Beyond cutting emissions, ensuring a resilient and secure heat grid is equally crucial. For decades, nuclear technology has proven its reliability, running non-stop to keep energy supplies stable. Now, heat-only small modular reactors (SMRs) are bringing that same resilience to district heating.
SMRs can store fuel on-site for years, allowing uninterrupted heat production even during geopolitical crises or fossil fuel shortages. Built underground, they are shielded from extreme weather, earthquakes, and other threats, making them inherently more secure than traditional heating systems that depend on imported fuels.
According to IEA, decarbonisation efforts have not yet been sufficient to curb associated emissions in district heating. Without clean heating solutions, fossil-free heat is simply out of reach. The findings from VTT’s analysis make one thing clear: heat-only SMRs offer a credible, near-zero-emissions path forward for urban heating.
As policymakers and city leaders plan for the 2030s and beyond, it’s time to include nuclear heat in the climate conversation – not as a last resort, but as a frontline solution.