Heat pump projects launch in Germany and Austria to boost district heating

New energy projects in Germany and Austria are utilizing advanced heat pump technology to advance regional decarbonization efforts through waste heat and wastewater recovery.

In Freiburg, Germany, the Cerdia energy center has officially commenced operations. The project utilizes two large-scale heat pumps with a thermal capacity of 15 MW to convert industrial waste heat from the chemical company Cerdia into district heating. This system, managed by Badenova Wärmeplus and planned by Sweco, includes thermal storage to manage network fluctuations and is part of a broader plan to expand CO2-free heating in the Freiburg-West area.

In Hard, Austria, the illwerke vkw has launched the 'Nahwärme Hard 2.0' project. This initiative involves constructing an energy center at the ARA Hofsteig wastewater treatment plant. The facility will use two large heat pumps with a total capacity of 5,000 kW to extract heat from purified wastewater. Powered by green electricity, the project aims to decarbonize heat production by 97.5 percent, with completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.