Vattenfall starts filling up 200MW thermal storage tower in Berlin

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Swedish public utility Vattenfall is about to start filling a 45m-high, 200MW-rated thermal energy storage facility with water in Berlin, Germany.

The heat storage tank can hold 56 million litres of water which will be heated at 98 degrees celsius and will be combined with the existing power-to-heat system of Vattenfall’s adjoining Reuter West power plant.

The water will be fed directly into the district heating network to supply customers’ heating needs in their homes, a company spokesperson told Energy-Storage.news. The filling is expected to take two months, followed by a period of testing before commercial operation begins in April 2023.

Jornt Spijksma, project manager at Vattenfall, said that the combination of Reuter West and the storage tank forms an “optimal, fossil-free and future-proof component to supply our Berlin customers with heat.”

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

He explained that when there is a surplus of wind energy, the power-to-heat system can convert that surplus into heat to be stored in the tank, reducing any need to curtail wind production. The storage tank can also integrate heat from other industrial processes such as the city’s cleaning department or waste heat from waste water.

The spokesperson added that it could potentially also connect with other renewable heat sources such as a large-scale heat pump.

The tank has a maximum thermal output of 200MW which it can discharge for 13 hours, making it a 2,600MWh system.

Vattenfall worked with three separate companies to deliver the project although has not revealed their names. Construction began in January 2022.

The company said that the storage tank is essential for securing heat supply for its customers, with the ability to ensure supply even during cold weather (Berlin typically has very cold winters).

Read Next

July 30, 2025
Utility and power generation firm EnBW has presented a 400MW/800MW BESS project proposal to a municipal council in Germany, for deployment at its Philippsburg nuclear power plant which is in the process of being decommissioned.
Premium
July 24, 2025
Steady price falls the past few years have made lithium-ion BESS a real contender for long-duration energy storage (LDES), and that is now reflected in global project pipelines.
July 22, 2025
BESS optimisation company Enspired has recently announced expansion into Greece, Spain and Poland, but how will it approach operating across markets and what benefits will it bring? We hear from its CEO.
July 21, 2025
Chinese lithium-ion OEM Gotion High-Tech has launched manufacturing of its 5MWh BESS units at its manufacturing facility in Göttingen, Germany.
July 16, 2025
The Federal Court of Justice in Germany has rejected an appeal against BESS being eligible for the BKZ construction fee, a decision which means potentially millions more in costs for building projects in the country.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter