In an edition that surpasses pre-COVID participation, the SES confirms itself as one of the main moments of meeting and exchange within the DHC community. Matteo Pozzi, after participating in the DHC+ Assembly held at the Copenhagen headquarters of Aalborg University on 11 September, presented as Vice Chair of the DHC+ the path and the report on digitalisation, discussing the challenges and progress with market operators of an industry that continues to pursue a constant increase in performance and is faced with increasingly greater difficulties in managing the complexity of multi-energy systems. By presenting the project and the solution for the optimized development of district heating networks together with Alessandro Capretti of A2A, the case of Milan became an opportunity to share valuable considerations on the involvement of stakeholders in the planning processes of the substantial investments that district heating requires. These tools and methodologies may have their further development in light of European regulations which require all municipalities with more than 45,000 inhabitants to develop Energy and Heat Planning. As Chair of the session on Integrated energy systems and smart grids, further ideas concerned examples of energy communities in Eastern Europe, the exploitation of geothermal sources, or interesting methodological approaches to support planning processes. The detail of the two tables. The complete program can be consulted here. Session 23: Integrated energy systems and smart grids Chaired by Matteo Pozzi Session keynote Andra Blumberga: When does Energy Island transfer to Energy Community? Christine Nowak: Integrated energy system flexibility options when using heat pumps to save carbon emissions Igor Krupenski: Geothermal energy implementation in Estonian District Heating Networks Joseph Jebamalai: Optimization of thermal energy storage in district heating systems using Comsof Heat and GBOML Jim Rojer: Dynamic GROW Model for Heat District Network feasibility by Techno -economic Planning and Design Optimization with a Mixed Integer Linear strategy Lukas Peham: Implementation of a lifetime prediction model for crosslinked, foamed polyolefin insulation of pit thermal energy storages Session 2: Smart energy infrastructure and storage options Chaired by Benedetto Nastasi Session keynote Kristian Honoré: The age of Digitalization and Flexibility – from consumer to FLEXUMER in the district heating system Matteo Pozzi: Digitalisation of the DHC industry: a review by DHC+ and Euroheat & Power Maximilian Bernecker: The Value of Information – How Enhanced Load Profiles Save Costs for Local Congestion Management Pascal Häbig: Quantifying the Standardization Gap in Smart Energy Systems: Standardizing Information and Communication Interfaces for Small-Scale Flexibility Lukas Hofmann: How seasonal heat storage can benefit power system flexibility and power-to-heat integration? An optimisation on the scale of the French territory. Anna Vannahme: Study of the optimization of an existing local district heating network with an increasing degree of digitalization