"World's largest heat pump" is a 🇫🇮 lämpöpumppu (the only Finnish word I know, don't ask)

And in the competition for largest heat pumps, it is a bit like the Olympics: with many subcategories (heat source), there are many winners.

Here: air-to-water 🥇

https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/german-company-to-build-worlds-largest-heat-pump-in-helsinki/
#HeatPumps #DistrictHeating

German company to build world’s largest heat pump in Helsinki

A massive air-water heat pump in Helsinki will see the Finnish capital on the way to achieving its 2030 climat

EURACTIV

Using CO2 as refrigerant, this heat pump delivers between 20 and 33 MW of heat!

"Additionally, the solution enables rapid power-balancing of the electrical grid, supporting the integration of intermittent power generation like solar and wind."

https://www.man-es.com/company/press-releases/press-details/2024/08/28/man-energy-solutions-to-supply-world-s-largest-air-to-water-heat-pump-for-helsinki-s-district-heating

MAN Energy Solutions to Supply World’s Largest Air-to-Water Heat Pump for Helsinki’s District Heating

Finland’s capital city to reduce CO2 emissions by 26,000 tons annually with MAN heat pump technology Mega heat pump to harness ambient air and renewable electricity for heat generation MAN Energy Solutions to deliver a 33 MW air-to-water heat pump unit – the world’s largest ever used for a district-heating plant

MAN Energy Solutions

Read more about this district heating project in Helsinki 🇫🇮, where the heat pump is complemented by two 50 MW boilers:

https://www.helen.fi/en/news/2024/helen-invests-in-the-carbon-neutrality-of-district-heating-a-heat-pump-plant-based-on-new-technology-and-two-electric-boilers-planned-for-patola

Helen invests in the carbon neutrality of district heating – a heat pump plant based on new technology and two electric boilers planned for Patola

Helen is building an air-to-water heat pump plant and two electric boilers with combined heat production capacity of 100 MW (à 50 MW) in the company's existing production area in Patola. The air-to-water heat pump plant, based on new technology, is the first of its size in the world. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment granted an energy subsidy for the plant. The heating plant complex, designed to drive Helsinki's heat production towards carbon neutrality, is expected to enter production in the heating season of 2026–2027.

now I continue in the collection of very large heat pumps with an earlier thread from a different platform. Time to bring those here:
#HeatPumps #DistrictHeating #HeatPump

'Europe's largest heat pump' to be installed in Vienna 🇦🇹🥐

(🏅: sewage)

Not one, but 6 giant heat pumps will harvest heat from the Vienna waste water treatment plant to provide 90°C heat to the district heating (that also uses waste heat from a candy factory)

https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000143180017/europas-groesste-waermepumpe-holt-energie-aus-wiens-abwasser

Europas größte Wärmepumpe holt Energie aus Wiens Abwasser

In der Kanalisation befindet sich viel ungenutzte Wärme. Die Stadt Wien will sie nun ernten, um das Fernwärmenetz unabhängiger von Gas zu machen

DER STANDARD

more on heat pumps in combination with district heating:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230131-can-city-dwellers-ever-have-heat-pumps

The enormous heat pumps warming cities

From New York City to rural Cornwall, communal heat pump networks could be the answer to decarbonising heat in both city high-rises and other hard-to-heat homes.

BBC

I've been to Drammen in Norway 🇳🇴 where they use the ice cold water from the Oslo Fjord as heat source for the district heating. I didn't freeze.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-31506073

Heat pumps extract warmth from ice cold water

The residents of Drammen in Norway have rather an unusual way of keeping warm, based on ice cold water from the local fjord.

BBC News
Katri Vala heating and cooling plant | Helen

Katri Vala is the largest heat pump plant in the world to produce heat and cooling.

and there's another one under construction in Helsinki that should be operational by the end of next year:

https://www.hel.fi/fi/uutiset/helen-rakentaa-eiranrantaan-uuden-lampopumppulaitoksen

Helen rakentaa Eiranrantaan uuden lämpöpumppulaitoksen

Helen rakentaa uuden lämpöpumppulaitoksen Eiranrantaan. Laitoksella tuotetaan hiilineutraalia kaukolämpöä ja kaukojäähdytystä puhdistetun jäteveden hukkaenergiasta. Louhintatyöt alkavat suunnitelmien mukaan alkuvuodesta 2023 ja laitoksen arvioidaan valmistuvan vuoden 2025 lopussa.

Helsingin kaupunki

Aalborg 🇩🇰 has tendered for a 100 - 125 MW seawater heat pump for its district heating:

https://dbdh.dk/aalborg-forsyning-puts-denmarks-largest-seawater-heat-pump-out-to-tender/

Aalborg Forsyning puts Denmark’s largest seawater heat pump out to tender - DBDH

Denmark's giant seawater heat pump will play an essential role in Aalborg's green transition. The plant has now been put out to tender, and when it goes into operation as planned in 2025, it must supply 25% of the district heating in Aalborg Forsyning's supply area. Aalborg Forsyning is planning the green heating solutions that

DBDH - The District Energy Go-to-Partner

Stockholm 🇸🇪 a combination of heat pumps harvesting heat from purified waste water totalling a whopping 225 MW,
PLUS 6 🌊 sea water heat pumps - add another 180 MW!

https://smartcitysweden.com/best-practice/401/stockholm-innovates-district-heating-with-new-solutions-and-renewable-sources/

Stockholm Innovates District Heating with New Solutions and Renewable Sources | News - Smart City Sweden

Stockholm Exergi is responsible for heating and cooling production in the region of Stockholm. The district heat distribution network has a length of 3,000 km, and after the last coal-fired plant in …

Smart City Sweden

a modest 3,2 MW waste water heat pump in Vancouver 🇨🇦 , being expanded to 9,9 MW

http://www.falsecreeksouth.org/2021/02/17757/

NEIGHBOURHOOD ENERGY UTILITY PREPARING TO EXPAND: Q&A

Now that the NEU has been in operation for the last 10 years, would you give us an overview of its upcoming expansion plans: the nature of the expanded service, its location in the city and the implications for demands on the current facility under the Cambie Bridge. The NEU service area has undergone a

False Creek South Neighbourhood Association
Heat pump at Utrecht sewage treatment plant | Eneco

Heat pump at Utrecht sewage treatment plant

The examples are multiplying - as with heat pumps, which use 1 unit of electricity to produce 3-4 units of heat to supply the district heating:
Helsinki 🇫🇮 is a world leader, with a 500 MW seawater heat pump system under construction:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-18/helsinki-utility-finds-a-surprising-heat-source-icy-seawater

Helsinki Utility Finds a Surprising Heat Source: Icy Seawater

To transition from fossil fuels, the Finnish capital is looking to tap into a very abundant resource: icy water from deep in the Baltic Sea.

Bloomberg

Water works with heat pump in Frederiksberg 🇩🇰 (don't know the capacity, yearly output is 40 GWh of heat)

https://www.frb-forsyning.dk/om-os/nyheder/byggeriet-af-danmarks-foerste-hoejhusvandvaerk-starter?PID=18090&M=NewsV2&Action=1

Byggeriet af Danmarks første højhusvandværk starter

Nyheder om FF

Hamburg 🇩🇪: 60 MW heat pump (4 x 15 MW) using waste water to heat district heating

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/06/01/hamburg-to-deploy-large-scale-heat-pumps-in-wastewater-heat-project/

Hamburg to deploy large-scale heat pumps in wastewater heat project

Johnson Controls says it will supply four 15 MW heat pumps to the district heating network, in Hamburg, Germany. The new system will be equipped in the city's central wastewater treatment plant as part of a wastewater heat project.

pv magazine International

50 MW heat pump system for Esbjerg 🇩🇰 using the Wadden Sea 🌊 as a heat source to heat the district heating system - and with its flexibility in electricity use helps integrate wind power & balance the grid

https://www.man-es.com/discover/esbjerg-heat-pump

Esbjerg Heat Pump

How a seaport town in Denmark is decarbonizing district heating with seawater and large-scale industrial heat pumps.

MAN Energy Solutions

Mannheim, (for now) leading in the 'river' heat source category 🥇 with a 20 MW heat pump

https://www.mvv.de/ueber-uns/unternehmensgruppe/mvv-umwelt/aktuelle-projekte/mvv-flusswaermepumpe

MVV Flusswärmepumpe Mannheim

Im Auftrag von MVV wird eine Flusswärmepumpe gebaut, die ab 2023 das Flusswasser des Rheins als klimaneutrale Wärmequelle zur Fernwärme-Produktion nutzt.

MVV Energie AG

Berlin 🇩🇪 : 75 MW waste water heat pumps under construction:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/heat-pumps-action-berlins-sustainable-future-karim-amin-scqif

Heat Pumps in Action: Berlin’s Sustainable Heat Future

Heat pumps are vital components of the energy transition. They utilize waste heat or renewable energy sources to provide efficient heating and cooling solutions.

Köln / Cologne 🇩🇪 getting ready for some 'chaleur de cologne' and to take over the lead from Mannheim (from the same river) with the world's largest river heat pump: 150 MW

https://www.rheinenergie.com/de/unternehmen/newsroom/nachrichten/news_71240.html

Europas größte Wärmepumpe: Ausschreibung für den Anlagenbau startet

RheinEnergie News vom 21.12.2023: Europas größte Wärmepumpe: Ausschreibung für den Anlagenbau startet. Lesen Sie dies und mehr im Newsroom der RheinEnergie.

RheinEnergie AG
Dekarbonisierung der Kieler Fernwärme

Strom, Erdgas, Wärme und Wasser: Die Stadtwerke Kiel sind Ihr Energieversorger in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Niedersachsen und Bremen.

Stadtwerke Kiel AG
Großwärmepumpe liefert klimaneutrale Fernwärme | EnBW

Großwärmepumpe kann bis zu 10.000 Haushalte mit Fernwärme versorgen, Einsparung von 15.000 Tonnen CO2, neue Maßstäbe in der energetischen Nutzung

Großwärmepumpe liefert klimaneutrale Fernwärme

💪"Wrompa" is 🇵🇱 Poland's largest heat pump: once operational, it will be able to transfer 12.5 MW of heat from wastewater to the district heating system (which is currently 100% coal-based)

https://www.gov.pl/web/climate/wrompa---heat-pump-in-wroclaw

WROMPA - heat pump in Wrocław - Ministry of Climate and Environment - Gov.pl website

Ministry of Climate and Environment

@burger_jaap
Great thread!
The pace of #SectorCoupling is amazing!

In Helsinki 🇫🇮 it's not only #HeatPumps:
https://www.helen.fi/en/about-us/energy/energy-production/power-plants

Katri Vala
165MW heat + 100 MW cool

Esplanadi
22MW heat + 50MW cool

Eiranranta (2025)
90MW heat + 60MW cool

... but also #SeasonalStorage:
https://www.helen.fi/en/news/2021/gigantic-heat-caverns-in-mustikkamaa-filled

Mustikkamaa (2021):
260.000 m3

Kruunuvuorenranta (2030):
300.000 m3

#ElectricBoilers are also being built promptly in 🇫🇮 as there is often cheap wind power available in winter.

Power plants | Helen

We produce heat, electricity and cooling in power plants and heating plants in different parts of Helsinki. Find out about the power plants and their production outputs.

@burger_jaap
Many cities might even do without #HeatPumps for heating, as #geothermal resources like the #Molassebecken in Southern Germany provide valuable #hydrothermal temperatures above 70°C-100°C at moderate drilling depths.
https://www.roedl.de/erneuerbare-energien/dienstleistungen/technologie/geothermie

The city of #Munich already features 6 geothermal plants, feeding #decarbonisedHeat into the 900km #DistrictHeating network.
https://www.swm.de/magazin/energie/geothermie

Geothermie als Erneuerbare-Energien-Technologie

Die Tiefengeothermie ist die einzige erneuerbare Energieform, aus der weltweit grundlastfähig und steuerbar sowohl Strom als auch Wärme gewonnen werden kann. Hier finden Sie alle neuesten Informationen von Rödl

@henrihorn I can’t find the link now but I believe there’s also a project in Germany looking at geothermal + lithium extraction from the brine.

geothermal is also used in various projects in the Netherlands, such as this one for horticulture (plus also supplying to the residential area). I believe they use a heat pump on top as this is a lower temp. source.

https://my-mps.com/nieuws/ammerlaan-tgi-verduurzaamt-pijnacker-en-is-zelf-co2-neutraal/?lang=en

Ammerlaan TGI makes Pijnacker, the Netherlands, more sustainable and is itself CO2 neutral - MPS

MPS

@burger_jaap
Now the #Helsinki energy utility Helen wants yet another #ElectricBoiler of 200 MW, claiming it is the largest in Europe.

The investment also includes a 1.000 MWh thermal storage tank that can charge and discharge at 100 MW.

Of course #HeatPumps are more energy efficient, but require more CAPEX and lead times. Thanks to #WindPower, electricity is increasingly available at near-zero cost even in winter, making efficiency irrelevant at such times.

https://www.helen.fi/en/news/2024/helen-to-build-europes-largest-electric-boiler-plant-in-hanasaari

Helen to build Finland’s largest electric boiler plant in Hanasaari

Helen Ltd will build Europe’s largest electric boiler plant and a thermal battery consisting of two units in the Hanasaari energy block. Construction work will begin in spring 2025 and the plant complex will be commissioned during the heating season of 2026–2027.

@henrihorn Interesting, and probably makes sense in the combination with more efficient technologies.
@burger_jaap I guess there needs to be a balance between high-capex baseload units like #HeatPumps that run 5000 hours a year, and cheap peak units like electric boilers, that run only 200 hours a year, but create value both by producing valuable heat, and 'destroying' negatively-priced electricity.