MVV builds second large heat pump

20.03.2025

Source: E & M powernews

The Mannheim-based energy company MVV plans to install another large heat pump and a hydrogen-capable district heating backup heater.

Following the commissioning of its first river heat pump in 2023, Mannheim-based utility MVV has announced plans to build another one. The new plant, which is planned near the existing heat pump on the site of Grosskraftwerk Mannheim AG (GKM), will have a thermal output of around 150 MW, MVV announced. This is more than seven times the capacity of the first MVV flow heat pump (we reported).

The Mannheim-based energy company is also planning to build a hydrogen-capable district heating plant on the GKM site. As with the first river heat pump, GKM will be responsible for the operational management of both plants. Construction work on both projects is set to begin next year. Commissioning is scheduled for fall 2028.

"Once the second river heat pump has been commissioned, we will cover an even higher share of district heating requirements in Mannheim and the region with climate-friendly heating energy", said MVV CEO Georg Müller. The aim is to completely decarbonize the district heating supply in Mannheim and the surrounding region by 2030.

MVV's second river heat pump is expected to supply up to 40,000 additional households in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region with heat from 2028. According to the supplier, less than one percent of the Rhine water flowing past Mannheim is required to generate heat. This water is extracted via an existing structure and returned to the river cooled by a maximum of 3 degrees Celsius.

Several expansion stages for district heating in Mannheim

The hydrogen-compatible district heating reheater is used to reheat the district heating water to the required high temperatures in the district heating network during the heating period. According to MVV, the steam boiler system with a thermal firing capacity of up to 160 MW and all components will be designed for operation with hydrogen. Until it is connected to the hydrogen grid, the district heating backup heater will be operated with natural gas or biomethane. The plant will supplement the existing district heating storage facility at the GKM site.

In 2020, the energy company completed the first expansion stage of the heating energy turnaround in Mannheim by connecting the thermal waste treatment plant to the district heating grid. With the launch of operations at the first river heat pump, the phosphorous recycling plant, the back-up and peak load plants and the connection of the biomass power plant to the central district heating grid, MVV completed the second expansion stage of its district heating transformation in 2024.

With the tendering process for the second river heat pump, the development of geothermal energy and preparatory planning for the use of industrial waste heat, MVV is now in the third and final expansion stage for 100 percent green heating by 2030.

Author: Heidi Roider