Urbio Expands Across Europe to Accelerate District Heating Decarbonization

Summary based on the original article published in energate by Yves Ballinari, January 7, 2026

Our CEO Sébastien Cajot recently sat down with Yves Ballinari from energate to discuss Urbio's European expansion and the transformative role of AI in district heating planning.

Swiss cleantech startup Urbio has announced its expansion across the entire European market, making its AI-powered district heating planning platform available to utilities, consultants, and authorities in all EU countries, the UK, and Norway.

As the article notes, "While European cities rush to decarbonise their building stock and achieve national targets, planners struggle with outdated software and data gaps." AI can remove the barriers that have been slowing expansion until now.

Proven Track Record Opens Doors

The piece highlights how Urbio's years of development and real-world projects have positioned the platform to optimize district heating networks with thousands of buildings, manage heating plants, and deliver building-specific data at scale.

"We have shown what our technology can do in very many case studies over the past few years," Cajot explains in the interview. However, as the company scales across different European markets, there remains work to do in raising awareness for AI benefits in the district heating sector. "The energy industry lags very far behind in digitalisation when you compare it to everyday life."

Ballinari's article covers how the savings through AI-supported tools are considerable. In Germany, Urbio automated data processing and reporting for energy consultancy e-con, significantly reducing costs and processing times for feasibility studies. Belgian district heating specialist Resolia now identifies potential for new networks in minutes rather than weeks. Swiss customers include grid operators EKT, CKW, Oiken, and Romande Energie.

Strategic Focus on High-Growth Markets

The article describes how the European expansion launches with a freemium model, offering limited platform access free of charge while premium features remain paid.

Cajot shares that the focus on district heating arose from recognizing untapped potential for both decarbonization and digitalization. "Fortunately, today the heat market across Europe is moving with strong regulatory tailwinds," he explains. "The countries are realising that district heating is the most efficient solution. So they are upgrading there."

The discussion reveals Urbio's particular focus on France and Great Britain: "We focus on those markets that have very ambitious plans but are only at the beginning of their implementation."

Switzerland: From Rollout to Densification

In discussing Urbio's home market, Cajot notes how the focus has shifted. "While many countries are only beginning to roll out district heating networks, customers here are now focused on extending and densifying existing networks."

The article highlights a recent product development: Urbio's integration of third-party CRM systems, enabling utilities to plan network expansions street by street based on live commercial data. "That enables a level of coordination they couldn't achieve before," Cajot tells energate.

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Read the full article (in German) on energate: link