New heat pump to produce heat in a climate-friendly way

The model for the high-temperature heat pump in the Vattenfall refrigeration center.

A new high-temperature heat pump is to generate heat in Berlin in a more climate-friendly way in the future.

The pump is expected to go into continuous operation in November, announced the companies Vattenfall and Siemens Energy at the inauguration ceremony on Monday (July 05, 2022) on Potsdamer Platz. Ir could supply 30,000 households with hot water in summer and 3,000 households with heat in winter.

Promoting the transition to clean energy in Berlin

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and is intended to drive forward the transition to clean energy in Berlin. According to the companies, the pump saves around 6500 tons of carbon dioxide in the heating system per year, which is equivalent to over 3 million cubic meters of natural gas. According to the report, the system utilizes the surplus waste heat generated in the cooling center at Potsdamer Platz. The heat generated in this way flows directly into Berlin's city heating network. The refrigeration plant produces cold water for cooling businesses and households.

Generating heat from cold

"The banal principle is to generate heat from cold," said Tanja Wielgoß, CEO of Vattenfall Wärme Berlin AG. "In this way, we increase the energy efficiency of our refrigeration plant and at the same time produce environmentally friendly heat for the connected Berlin neighborhood."