MVV, Germany: Thousands of homes heated by river heat pump

The proven Omnivise T3000 control system integrates the control of the new heat pump and an existing thermal storage into the existing GKM power plant. The control system uses its multi-unit functionality to manage multiple generation units from a central control room. Omnivise T3000 is also a control solution for hybrid power plants. It can manage a variety of different distributed energy resources in an automated, autonomous, and coordinated manner, ensuring reliable 24/7 operation. At the same time, it is flexible and scalable to support larger numbers of assets if required.

This new type of large-scale, high-temperature heat pump provide thermal capacity of up to 20 MW, which will be capable of flexibly delivering flow temperatures in the district heating network of between 85°C and about 99°C, depending on ambient conditions. This is one way in which technology make a further contribution toward replacing fossil-based heating in urban district heating networks of Mannheim and the region. In addition to more efficiently linking energy resources at the GKM site and MVV's other generation units, the project serves to test the large-scale heat pump in Germany for the first time on a practical scale under real conditions.

Water protection is ensured through environmentally friendly water intake and discharge. Both structures are designed in such a way that they do not have a negative impact on the flow conditions in the river, either for flora and fauna or for navigation. The intake structure is deep enough to ensure a constant supply of river water to the heat pump, even when the river level is low. The structures did not need to be rebuilt but can be used in their current form. This saves resources and avoids additional environmental impact.

The Rhine water pump for the heat pump system is installed in the cooling water pump house of unit 7. The Rhine water pump extracts max. 700l/s of water from the river as a natural heat source to supply the new river water pump with the environmental renewable energy for heating the district heating water. The Rhine water is cooled by approx. 2 to 5 °C. 

With the district heating storage (1,500 MWh heat capacity), we are increasing the flexibility and security of supply for the district heating network in the Rhine/Neckar metropolitan region. Similar to a thermos flask, the storage facility is loaded and unloaded as required, allowing us to respond flexibly to fluctuating demand. The plant was designed and built by GKM on behalf of MVV Energie and, depending on operating conditions, can secure the entire district heating supply of the region for several hours.

More than two-thirds of households in Mannheim and the neighboring cities of Heidelberg, Schwetzingen, Brühl, Ketsch and Speyer will benefit from environmentally friendly district heating in the future. The river heat pump, which GKM is integrating into the large-scale heat pump system for MVV, will supply approximately 3,500 households with green heating from 2023.  This will save around 10,000 tons of CO₂ per year.

The heat pump service contract is based on continuous data exchange, which enables to perform remote inspection and service experts to plan inspection-based or remote analysis.

The analysis is based on the experience from 50 heat pump installations with more than 6 million operating hours. The service contract includes operational service desk, which means service experts will provide 24/7 support.

These experts can resolve problems even faster by analyzing historical data from connected heat pumps. Using online technical support, they can provide over-the-shoulder assistance and remote guidance. If more support is needed, a network of specialists is available to provide emergency spare parts or rapid deployment of field service personnel.