Technology
How the system works. First explained simply, then with all the details.
The Elbe flows. Always.
Around the clock, every day, the Elbe carries thermal energy. Even in frost, the water temperature stays above freezing. This warmth is there. It just needs to be used.
A little becomes a lot.
A large heat pump extracts a few degrees from the river water and raises the temperature to heating level. One part electricity becomes two to three parts heat.
Stored for later.
A large heat store buffers energy for hours or days. When the wind drops or the sun sets, it keeps delivering.
Warmth arrives.
Insulated pipes under the streets bring warm water directly into homes. Quiet, invisible, reliable.
From here, it gets concrete.
Your heating system
What happens to my heating?
Nothing.
Important distinction: your heating (e.g. radiators, underfloor heating and pipes) stays exactly as it is. Separate from that is the heat source, the device that warms the water, such as a gas boiler, oil boiler or pellet stove. A classic hot-water heating system heats water centrally in the boiler and sends it through the pipes to the radiators or underfloor heating. That's exactly where the district heating network plugs in. A heat exchanger transfers the warmth into your existing heating loop.
What happens to my heat source?
That's your call.
If you already have a hot-water heating system (e.g. gas or oil boiler), the district heating network can usually be connected in parallel without trouble. We clearly recommend running purely on district heating. We assess the technical conditions for every connection individually and advise you on the concrete options on site.
Timeline & transition
When will the district heating network go live?
Our target: 2030.
We're working towards bringing the district heating network online in 2030.
Can't wait that long?
Are you facing problems with your heat source right now, like an old gas boiler or oil boiler? Then get in touch. We'll find an individual solution to make the transition period as easy as possible for you.
Get in touch →What's under the hood
- Around 24 km of heat network for the city of Tangermünde. Up to 3,300 households can be connected, wherever it makes economic sense.
- Generation in the Arneburger Straße industrial area. Compact, efficient, in our hands.
- Three large heat pumps with around 24 MW combined output use the Elbe's water as a clean, year-round heat source.
- Electricity from regional sun and wind. No fossil supply chain, no import dependency.
- Three machines in parallel: redundant by design and expandable in stages.
- A large heat store with around 20,000 m³ as a thermal battery. It bridges the gaps when the sun and wind don't deliver in real time.
The hard numbers
- Around 1.3 m³ of water per second from the Elbe. We extract roughly 3 °C and return the water.
- Two-stage units for around 85 °C supply temperature. Three large heat pumps in parallel, expandable in stages.
- Heat factor (COP) of around 2 to 3: one part electricity becomes two to three parts usable heat.
- A double primary-circuit heat exchanger: no contact between refrigerant and river water. A clean Elbe, guaranteed.
We aim to supply the households in the city of Tangermünde.
Why this pays off in the long run
Local heat isn't just cleaner. Over time it's also significantly cheaper than any individual fossil solution. Four reasons why:
- Economies of scale: One central large heat pump runs more efficiently than hundreds of individual boilers in basements.
- Price stability: Local renewables aren't exposed to world-market swings, unlike gas and oil.
- Regional value creation: Investment, operation and maintenance stay in Tangermünde, with local companies and local jobs.
- Funding eligibility: Renewable heat networks are specifically supported by federal and state programmes.
Permits, step by step
We're walking the approval path together with the responsible authorities, carefully and transparently. Step by step we work through the water-, energy- and planning-related questions.
- Our current approach has been confirmed to us as fundamentally permittable; the formal approval is still outstanding.
- Early coordination with specialist authorities at municipal, district and state level.
- The planning status is reviewed continuously with the responsible authorities.
Strong partners at our side
Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Tangermünde, led by Prof. Clemens Westermann, has rigorously analysed heat demand in the Bleichenberg/Zollensteig quarter. Their data is the foundation of our network planning.