It will cover the heating needs of 25,000 households, while reducing CO2 emissions by 120,000 tons per year.
Located at the Port of Esbjerg, the plant harnesses renewable energy from nearby wind farms and seawater as a heat source. The facility is part of the transition to replace the city’s coal-fired power plant, which ceased operations, and forms a critical part of Esbjerg’s ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.
With a total heating capacity of 70 MW, the CO2-based heat pump system is the largest of its kind ever brought into operation globally. It operates in tandem with a new 60 MW wood chip boiler that uses sustainable wood chips and a 40 MW electric boiler plant, which serves as a peak and backup load facility.
Helle Damm-Henrichsen, Managing Director of DIN Forsyning, said, “This is a significant milestone that we have eagerly anticipated for a long time. From now on, all our customers in Varde and Esbjerg will benefit from district heating directly sourced by the North Sea. This achievement is not only transformative for DIN Forsyning but also a major step forward for the climate. While we may be in western Jutland, I believe it’s fair to call this a world premiere: the world’s largest CO2-based seawater heat pump is now producing heat.”
Dr. Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions, said, “I’m extremely proud that our Mega Heat Pump is now providing climate-neutral heat to the people of Esbjerg and Varde. As a pioneering city, Esbjerg demonstrates how urban heating systems can be reshaped by harnessing renewable energy sources.”
A key feature of MAN’s solution is its use of non-toxicologically and environmentally safe CO2 as a refrigerant for the entire system-cycle. This is of particular interest to DIN Forsyning given the plant’s location on the shore of the Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a sensitive ecosystem. The solution also enables fast power-balancing of the electrical grid and thus supports the integration of intermittent power generation like solar and wind. The system can be switched on and off many times a day with fast reaction capability.
The basic principle of heat pump technology is to use electrical energy to elevate low-temperature thermal energy to a higher, usable level. For every MWh of electrical energy invested, approximately three MWh of usable thermal energy can be generated. At the core of the plant are two oil-free, hermetically sealed HOFIM® motor-compressor units developed and manufactured by MAN Energy Solutions in Zurich, Switzerland. These units use high-speed motors and active magnetic bearings, eliminating the need for oil and reducing maintenance requirements. The machines will be connected for remote monitoring, data-analytics and diagnostics of the compressor technology and the auxiliary systems.
