THERMAFLEX INTERNATIONAL HOLDING BV

Their core work

Thermaflex is a Dutch manufacturer of pre-insulated flexible piping systems used in district heating and cooling networks. In H2020 projects, they contribute their industrial expertise in thermal distribution infrastructure — pipes, insulation materials, and system integration for low-temperature heat networks. Their role across all three projects centers on enabling efficient heat transport from diverse sources (waste heat, geothermal, renewables) to end users in urban and industrial settings. They bridge the gap between heat generation technologies and the physical distribution systems that deliver thermal energy to buildings.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Thermaflex entered H2020 with a focus on advanced thermal distribution concepts — H-DisNet (2016) explored hybrid thermo-chemical district networks, a relatively experimental approach to heat transport. Their later projects shifted toward practical deployment of low-temperature and renewable heat systems, with REWARDHeat (2019) adding digitalisation and sector coupling to their portfolio. The trajectory shows a move from R&D-stage network concepts toward market-ready, digitally enabled district heating infrastructure.

Thermaflex is evolving from a pure piping manufacturer toward a provider of smart, digitally integrated thermal distribution solutions suited for decarbonised heat networks.

How they like to work

Thermaflex participates exclusively as a partner, never leading consortia — consistent with their role as an industrial component supplier contributing domain expertise rather than driving research agendas. They work in large consortia (51 unique partners across 14 countries from just 3 projects), indicating comfort operating in complex, multi-national teams. Their consistent participation across Innovation Actions (2) and Research & Innovation Actions (1) shows they engage at both development and near-market deployment stages.

Through just 3 projects, Thermaflex has built connections with 51 unique consortium partners across 14 European countries — a remarkably broad network for a focused industrial participant, reflecting the large-scale nature of district heating demonstration projects.

What sets them apart

Thermaflex occupies a specific niche: they are one of Europe's leading manufacturers of flexible pre-insulated piping, making them a natural partner for any district heating or cooling demonstration project that needs real distribution infrastructure. Unlike research institutes that study thermal networks theoretically, Thermaflex brings commercially available products and manufacturing capability to consortia. For anyone building a consortium around district energy, they offer the critical link between heat source innovation and physical heat delivery.

Highlights from their portfolio

• REWARDHeat
  Their largest funded project (EUR 150,544), running until 2024, combining renewable heat recovery with digitalisation — represents their most current strategic direction.
• TEMPO
  Highest single funding (EUR 169,591) and longest duration (2017-2022), focused specifically on low-temperature district heating optimisation across Europe.
• H-DisNet
  Their first H2020 project, exploring an unconventional hybrid thermo-chemical approach to district networks — a more experimental entry point into EU-funded research.