Energy utility RheinEnergie has commissioned MAN Energy Solutions to deliver a turnkey heat-pump plant at its Cologne-Niehl power-plant site. With a heating capacity of 150 MW, it will be Europe’s largest fluvial heat-pump system supplying climate-neutral district heating to 50 000 households in the Cologne metropolitan area. RheinEnergie is investing around €280 million in this flagship project.
The heat-pump system will utilise water from the Rhine as its energy source, operating with a natural refrigerant in a closed-loop system. Powered by electricity, the system will extract thermal energy from the river water and raise the temperature of the district heating water to 110°C, meeting the requirements of Cologne’s district-heating network. By replacing fossil fuels, the technology will enable annual savings of approximately 100 000 tons of emitted CO2. It is expected to begin operation in 2027.
Dr Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions, commented: “This pioneering project marks the first deployment of our innovative, large-scale, heat-pump technology in Germany. Cologne is taking a leading role in showcasing how climate-neutral heat supply can succeed at a large scale. With our heat-pump technology, we are demonstrating how urban-heating systems can be transformed using sustainable energy sources – an essential step toward a greener energy future.”
MAN Energy’s scope of supply includes the entire large-scale heat-pump system for the Cologne-Niehl site. This encompasses a building to house three large heat-pump units, the district-heating pump station, and a significant portion of the river-water and district-heating pipelines on-site. The package also includes all key components, such as compressors, condensers, heat exchangers, the control system, and the electrical infrastructure. MAN Energy Solutions is acting as EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) contractor.
Alexander Stöckler, head of Sales, Tendering & Project Management, Power Segment at MAN, says: “As EPC contractor, we will hand over a turnkey plant to RheinEnergie. … We are creating a blueprint that can also be transferred to other large-scale heat-pump projects in Germany, Europe and worldwide.”
Three integrally-geared compressors form the core of the technology and will be manufactured and tested by MAN Energy Solutions in Berlin and Oberhausen.
The order also includes a long term service agreement with MAN PrimeServ, which will provide real-time monitoring, data analytics, and diagnostics of the compressor technology.
