How to develop district heating in Finland?

District heating is widely used in Finland. About half of the population live is district-heated buildings. Additionally, many industrial and public buildings are heated with district heat. In Finland, district heating is implemented efficiently. Average network and measuring losses are 10%. Through energy transition, urbanization and digitalization the Finnish district heating sector is facing new challenges. This paper deals with how Finnish district heating should be developed during the next five years. Altogether 29 organizations, mainly companies, were interviewed and asked about the main challenges, the main opportunities, the foreseen vision and the required actions. Increased competition forces the energy companies to reconsider their business. The major development efforts should be focused on new production alternatives (including hybrid systems), services and data utilization. The development should also be performed in closer connection with the end users and clients. The new systems and solutions should be piloted in order to ensure their operation and to demonstrate their benefits. The municipalities should take a forerunner role in the piloting actions.