Geothermal drilling in Prenzlau, Germany hits target depth
Prenzlau, Brandenburg, Germany (source: A.Savin, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
17 Dec 2025
Geothermal drilling in Prenzlau, Germany has now reached its target depth, and well testing is expected to commence within December 2025.
The planned geothermal heating project in the town of Prenzlau in Brandenburg, Germany has reached a major milestone with the successful end of drilling operations. The well has reached the target depth at 983 meters. A filter will then be installed into the sandstone strata before testing can be done, which is expected to start in December 2025.
As indicated during the start of drilling in October, local utility Stadtwerke Prenzlau GmbH aims to supply 60% of the district heating needs with geothermal energy. Thermal water at around 44 °C is expected to be extracted from the borehole, which will then be heated to 80 °C using several heat pumps before being fed to the district heating network. A previous study indicates that 130 cubic meters of thermal water can be extracted per hour. This will correspond to a total capacity of 4.5 MW.
The estimated total cost of the project is EUR 20.7 million, with about 60% of the investment going towards the geothermal plant. Just over EUR 8.5 million will go towards merging the three sub-networks in Prenzlau, which will help make the project economically viable. Stadtwerke Prenzlau has received a grant of EUR 8.3 million for the project from the Federal Funding Program for Efficient Heating Networks (Bundesförderung für effiziente Wärmenetze / BEW).
“A fantastic project that I’ve been involved with for years. I’m delighted that it’s becoming a reality,” said State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Michael Kellner. “Fossil gas will be replaced by climate-friendly geothermal energy. Prices will remain stable, and we’ll no longer be dependent on gas deliveries. Prenzlau is demonstrating how the energy transition can succeed.”
The geothermal project has enjoyed good acceptance from the Prenzlau community because of its apolitical appeal. It is a climate-friendly energy source that is also a locally produced product and helps the community be independent of Russian oil. There are currently around 3700 buildings in Prenzlau that are connected to the heating network, and the aim is to increase this number to 5500. This will then represent more than 50% of the buildings in Prenzlau.
Source: ZfK and Bundesverband Geothermie
