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The world’s largest heat pump of its kind is currently being built in Esbjerg, Denmark, designed and built by an Augsburg company. Why is the technology not yet used in Germany?
A black box has recently been placed in the harbor of Esbjerg. The base area of the cuboid would cover half a football field. Behind the black metal shell lies a jungle of pipes, valves and boilers. It is the empire of Karl Böhle.
Project manager Karl Böhle from MAN Energy Solutions. The large heat pump is intended to supply up to 25,000 households with heat.
The engineer is responsible for ensuring that the world’s largest heat pump of its kind will soon go into operation in the Danish coastal town. The principle is simple: seawater is pumped in through metre-thick pipes. The average water temperature of one to 15 degrees is sufficient to cause liquid CO2 to evaporate inside the system – in a closed circuit. This is ultimately how heat is generated.
“At peak we need 4,000 liters of seawater per second,” says project manager Böhle as he leads us to the heart of the system: the two compressors. Each weighs 40 tons. In total they deliver 60 megawatts of heating energy. “Compared to a single-family home, we are 6,000 times larger here. That’s enormous for a heat pump.”
City wants to be CO2 neutral by 2030
The project manager and the entire MAN company are proud of the product. Just years ago, the continued existence of the Augsburg subsidiary was in jeopardy. Then came a new boss and a new strategy: less diesel, more technology to cope with the energy transition. And a new name to go with it: MAN Energy Solutions.
The technology from Augsburg will soon provide district heating for up to 25,000 households or 100,000 people. Esbjerg should be CO2-neutral in seven years, says Mayor Jesper Frost Rasmussen: “The people of Esbjerg expect us to find green solutions. They have recognized that we have to live our lives differently than before,” said the politician the conservative-liberal Venstre party.
Germany is lagging behind
The coal-fired power plant in the port, which has previously provided district heating for Denmark’s seventh largest city, will soon be shut down. District heating for the city is then primarily provided by the pump. The large heat pumps from the Augsburg company MAN are in demand all over the world, including New Zealand and the USA. But so far no project has materialized in Germany. You might need them right now.
For example in Augsburg: District heating is more in demand than ever. Demand is exploding and has increased twentyfold in the past few years. And a large heat pump could make the gas turbine superfluous – a fossil combustion engine that supplies part of Augsburg’s district heating.
Complex approval
The technology can even help in the summer, says Uwe Lauber, head of MAN Energy Solutions: “It’s not just a heat pump. You can also use it to generate cold, for example for hospitals. Take Mr. Lauterbach at his word, who is special in this year Summer was looking for cold.” The biggest advantage, however, is that the pump can also generate and feed in electricity, says Lauber. “In this way, the network can be kept stable, which tends to be destabilized by the development of renewable energies.”
The facility in the port of Esbjerg ensures that the city’s coal-fired power plant can be shut down.
In Augsburg, for example, the water for the pump could come from the Lech. However, its use in Germany is made more difficult by long and complex approval procedures, says Lauber. The biggest problem, however, is the electricity that is needed to operate each heat pump.
The heat pump only makes sense and is sustainable if the electricity is “green” and affordable. But this is missing in Germany. “We put 14 wind turbines into operation in Bavaria last year, so there is certainly still room for improvement. This expansion must be pushed forward,” said the company boss.
Even larger heat pump planned
If this succeeds, the pump could also be used in Augsburg. For example in the south of the city, where a completely new district is planned. Ulrich Längle from Stadtwerke can say exactly what would be necessary: ”First of all, we have to get the electricity from the north to the south. But then we also have to build more wind energy and more photovoltaics here in the south. In numbers: That’s all there is to it “Construction and approval can happen five times faster than before.”
In Esbjerg, green energy is available and will continue to be expanded. The components for many more wind turbines are already available in the port. And in Aalborg – about three hours’ drive from Esbjerg – MAN will soon build the next heat pump. It is expected to be two and a half times larger than the one in Esbjerg.