Siemens Energy, MVV Build Heat Pump Plant in Germany

Siemens Energy, together with MVV Energie AG, has built a large-scale heat pump plant in Mannheim, Germany. The plant utilizes river water as a heat source, reducing the usage of coal at the local GKM power plant. The completion of the heat pump plant allows MVV and the City of Mannheim to support the transition to CO₂-neutral heating by 2030.

"By 2030, we will generate our district heating in Mannheim and the region entirely from climate-friendly energy sources,” said Dr. Georg Müller, CEO of MVV Energie AG. “At the same time, we are continually expanding our district heating grid and increasing the density of existing district heating areas, i.e., connecting additional households to the existing grid. With the commissioning of our first river heat pump, we are once again demonstrating that the energy turnaround is already a reality at MVV."

The heat pump uses 7 MW of electricity from renewable energy sources to generate 20 MW of thermal energy, which is then applied to reheat the district heating return flow up to 99°C. This pump makes use of the GKM plant’s current infrastructure, including high-performance water intake, water outlet, and a connection to the district heating network. From this year forward, the Mannheim site is projected to supply heating for 3,500 German households and cut back on an approximate 10,000 tons of carbon emissions per year.

The installed heat pumps move thermal energy in the opposite direction of spontaneous heat transfer—heat is absorbed from a colder space and released into a warmer section. This pump will extract a portion of the heat from an external source, in this case water from the Rhine River, and releases the energy for district heating purposes. MVV chose extraction from the Rhine source due to its stable temperature throughout the seasons, reaching up to 25°C in the summer and down to 5°C in the winter.

Model of the Siemens Energy heat pump; Image Credits: Siemens Energy

Siemens Energy equipped the heat pump plant with a compressor and its associated gear, an electrical motor, heat exchangers, and a control system. The heat pump unit was assembled at the Siemens factory in Finspong, Sweden, and the company will service the plant with full installation and commissioning guidance.