Europe's largest river water heat pump: contract awarded
16 December 2024
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- ZÜBLIN and STRABAG Umwelttechnik are awarded the contract for the construction of the water intake structure including complex fish protection systems
- The project is being executed by a collaboration across teams from ZÜBLIN, Züblin Spezialtiefbau GmbH and STRABAG Water Technologies
The construction of Europe's largest river water heat pump in Cologne is getting closer and has reached a significant milestone: Last Friday, RheinEnergie announced the contracts to the suppliers and manufacturers of the plant, which will play a key role in the decarbonization of heat for Cologne.
MAN Energy Solutions was awarded the contract for the construction of the actual large heat pump with an output of 150 megawatts. The contract for the construction of the water extraction structure, including complex fish protection systems, was awarded to a consortium of the companies ZÜBLIN and STRABAG Umwelttechnik.
The construction of this river water heat pump is the second largest single investment project in the history of RheinEnergie. It is the starting point for a sustainable and decarbonized heat supply in Cologne. For a medium-sized company like RheinEnergie, it represents a feat of strength that would hardly be possible without public funding. Andreas Feicht, CEO of RheinEnergie, commented: "The challenges in a city of millions like Cologne are enormous when it comes to decarbonizing the heat supply in the future; with a total investment volume of 280 million euros, we are creating an important basis for this. At the same time, we are giving a strong boost to the economy - which is important in the current economic situation. The state and the EU are participating in this project with funding of around 100 million euros. This underlines the great public importance of our project; we are raising the remaining investment sum from our own entrepreneurial resources."
A signal effect for Germany and Europe
However, the Cologne project is not only of the utmost importance for the city: "It sends out a signal for Germany and Europe, because we are breaking new ground for sustainable and climate-friendly heat production. It is the most rational and efficient way to tap into the abundant environmental energy available to us."
For MAN, the construction contract for a heat pump of these dimensions is an outstanding project. Dr. Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions, emphasizes: "I am delighted that we are able to use our innovative large heat pump for the first time in Germany with this flagship project. As the fourth largest city in Germany, Cologne is taking on a pioneering role here and demonstrating how climate-neutral heat supply can succeed on a large scale. With our heat pump technology, we are demonstrating how urban heating systems can be redesigned through the use of climate-neutral energy sources - an important step towards a sustainable energy future. Together with RheinEnergie, we are driving forward the heating transition and sending a strong signal to other major cities to follow suit."
"The promotion of renewable energies is picking up speed. STRABAG has the construction expertise to realize important energy projects. Europe's largest river water heat pump in Cologne is setting new standards for the heat transition. Our STRABAG and ZÜBLIN units are contributing their many years of experience to this forward-looking major project and are helping to shape the expansion of green energies," comments Klemens Haselsteiner, CEO of STRABAG SE, on the Cologne construction project.
"Green" heat for 50,000 households - primarily from the Rhine
The river water heat pump is being built at RheinEnergie's Cologne-Niehl site, where it can feed directly into the company's largest district heating sub-grid for the inner city/suburban belt area.
The dimensions of the project mean that all partners involved are breaking new ground. A heat pump of this capacity is not yet in operation in Europe. The location places high demands with regard to water permits. It is about the influence of temperature changes on the fauna of the Rhine - through cooled water, which is also uncharted territory for the approval authorities. RheinEnergie is hoping for a sense of proportion in the approval process. Noise and immission control are also important in this densely populated area. This is why the specialist partners were selected with particular care.
At the heart of the river water heat pump is a circuit in which a natural refrigerant absorbs the temperature of the Rhine water. This refrigerant is heated in an electrically driven compressor to such an extent that it can transfer its high temperature level to the water of the district heating circuit in a heat exchanger. In this way, a river water temperature of around ten degrees Celsius is turned into an annual average of up to 110 degrees useful temperature. On average, around three kilowatt hours of useful heat are generated from one kilowatt hour of electricity. The Rhine water remains completely unchanged, returning to the river slightly cooled at the end of the process.
The combination of the large heat pump with other gas-based generation plants at the Niehl site allows district heating generation to be economically optimized, depending on the general conditions and market prices. This ensures stable end prices for customers.
RheinEnergie will begin preparatory work on the construction site next year and submit the permit application for the plant in parallel. As things stand at present, actual construction is scheduled to begin in 2026 once the permits have been granted, with commissioning still planned for 2027.
(Source: RheinEnergie)
