The AquaCOM team recently gathered in Leuven, Belgium, for a four-day Early Adopters' Study Trip organised by our Belgian partners Groep Huyzentruyt, Rescoop.eu, Ecopower and EXTRAQT. From 21 to 24 April, project partners and early-adopter energy communities came together at the historic Irish College for a programme combining masterclasses, site visits, hands-on workshops and informal exchanges — all aimed at accelerating community-led aquathermal energy initiatives across North-West Europe.
Exploring aquathermal energy in practice
The programme included inspiring site visits, such asthe watermill site in Rotselaar, approximately 10 km from Leuven, to see the AquaCOM Interreg North-West Europe pilot project in action. At this unique and historic location, which is a cohousing community, the project partner Ecopower has developed an integrated renewable energy site combining a hydropower installation with an aquathermal heat network that connects 10 dwellings. The visit was followed by an informal gathering organised by the mill residents with key project stakeholders — including contractors, municipal and provincial representatives, and local residents — providing a valuable opportunity for direct dialogue and on-the-ground knowledge exchange, while celebrating the successful accomplishment of the pilot site.
In Leuven, the group visited the Dijlemolens site — a former industrial watermill transformed into a sustainable residential complex — participants got an up-close look at one of the region's first aquathermal systems. The open system draws water from the river Dijle, filters it and passes it through a heat exchanger connected to heat pumps with a total capacity of 90 kW, supplying heat to around forty apartments and mixed-use spaces on site. This visit offered a vivid illustration of how aquathermal energy can be integrated into an existing residential context.
A third visit focused on a collective borehole project in Leuven, illustrating how shared geothermal solutions can be implemented at neighbourhood scale.
Heat UUUp! — From insight to action
The workshop centrepiece of the meeting was the interactive masterclass "Under Pressure: Turning Barriers into Big Wins", led by the Province of Friesland. Using the U3 methodology — in Dutch, Untdekke (Discover), Unwerpe (Design) and Utfiere (Deliver) — participants worked through a structured, hands-on process to identify, analyse and overcome real barriers in their own projects.
To bring out the full range of thinking within the
group, the session drew on five brainstorming archetypes: the Scientist, the
Wizard, the Captain, the Medic and the Judge. Each archetype brought a distinct
perspective to the table — from data-driven analysis to creative ideation and
critical evaluation — ensuring that no angle went unexplored.
Working with concrete cases and real-life problem
statements from their own projects, participants then applied the Ishikawa diagram to
map root causes systematically. From there, targeted actions were defined that
each Early Adopter could take back to their own context. The session was a
vivid demonstration of how structured collaboration and the right tools can
turn shared challenges into shared solutions.
Moving the AquaCOM project forward
The meeting also featured project updates from each participating country, as well as dedicated sessions on the two pilot sites. In Vlieland, construction of the aquathermal system began in February 2026, with early lessons and challenges already emerging. In Lorient, the feasibility study has been discussed, and next steps are being defined — with particular attention to learnings transferable to other projects across the consortium.
The final morning was devoted to the Early Adopters' Workbook - a compilation of exercises and guidelines to support Early Adopters in their community-led aquathermal energy journey -with participants working in smaller groups to explore specific chapters in depth, exchange experiences and translate content into concrete actions for their own projects.
Early Adopter energy communities play a pivotal role in the AquaCOM , acting as seeds for the broader dissemination of aquathermal energy across North-West Europe. In-person meetings like this one are essential for a project of AquaCOM's ambition and geographic scope — creating the conditions for honest conversation, collective problem-solving and the kind of motivation that carries communities through the more demanding phases of energy transition work.