Construction tops out on geothermal heating plant in Hamburg, Germany
Topping out ceremony of construction of geothermal heating plant in Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg, Germany (source: Remove term: Integrierte WärmeWende Wilhelmsburg Integrierte WärmeWende Wilhelmsburg)
Carlo Cariaga
13 Apr 2026
Construction has topped out on the geothermal heating plant in Wilhelmsburg in Hamburg, Germany, which is expected to start heat supply in 2026.
The construction of the new geothermal heating plant in the district of Wilhelmsburg in Hamburg, Germany has just reached a major milestone, celebrated with a topping-out ceremony. The project is scheduled to start supplying geothermal heat to the local heating network by 2026.
The “Integrated Heat Transition Wilhelmsburg” (IW3) project is being executed by a consortium of project partners including Hamburger Energiewerke through its subsidiary Hamburg Energie Geothermie GmbH (HEGeo), CONSULAQUA, Hamburg Institut Research gGmbH (HIR), Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg (HAW) and the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU).
The topping-out ceremony marks the completion of the shell of the energy center. The entire building will service the infrastructure needed to run the geothermal system including the 8-MW heat pump system, medium-voltage distribution, transformers, and circulation pumps. The heat pump system, manufactured by WESKA Kälteanlagen GmbH, is about to undergo the Factory Acceptance Test before its delivery to Wilhelmsburg.
Buffer storage tanks with a total capacity of 100 cubic meters will be installed in front of the heat center to buffer peak loads and stabilize the feed to the heating networks. A photovoltaic system will also be installed on the roof of the building.
Plans for a geothermal heating plant in Wilhelmsburg were first announced back in 2019, although early studies on the geothermal potential in the region had started as far back as 2008. In 2020, the IW3 project received funding of EUR 22.5 million from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWK). Drilling started in 2022. The first well was drilled to a depth of 1300 meters, and a second was drilled to 1460 meters. Based on production tests, the production well can extract thermal waters at 48 °C from a depth of 1300 meters.
The new heating plant will integrate into the Wilhelmbsurg district heating network, which includes the Energiebunker und Energieverbund networks.. In the future, three more districts in Wilhelmsburg will be connected in stages: Rathausviertel, Elbinselquartier, and Spreehafenviertel.
The district heating network, including the Energiebunker, already supplies around 45% of its heat from climate-neutral sources – solar thermal energy, industrial waste heat, and a biomethane combined heat and power plant. With its constant availability, the geothermal power plant will cover a significant portion of the base load in the future, displacing natural gas and primarily using it for peak loads.
Source: Integrierte WärmeWende Wilhelmsburg
