(Stuttgart / Germany) – EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG has completed a hydrogen-capable power plant in the Münster district of Stuttgart after approximately five years of planning and construction. The company stated that it is one of the first of its kind in Germany and will supply both base and peak loads.
Formally commissioning the Stuttgart-Münster power plant (from left): Peter Heydecker (EnBW Board Member), Christian Bruch (Board Member of Siemens Energy AG), Frank Nopper (Mayor of the City of Stuttgart), Andre Baumann (State Secretary of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment), Georg Stamatelopoulos (CEO of EnBW). © EnBW / Uli Deck
The plant's focus is on waste incineration. To ensure optimal fuel utilization, district heating and electricity are generated simultaneously using the combined heat and power (CHP) principle. When the waste incineration plant was no longer sufficient to supply district heating in winter, three coal-fired boilers previously provided the additional heat required. These will be replaced by two new, initially natural gas-fired, hydrogen-capable gas turbines supplied by Siemens Energy AG with a combined output of 124 megawatts. The comprehensively refurbished power plant will have a combined thermal output of 450 megawatts. Following successful trial operation, the plant will begin commercial operation "shortly."
More coal-fired power plants under conversion
The project is "an important signal for further plants of this type." Therefore, EnBW is also converting the previously coal-fired sites in Altbach/Deizisau and Heilbronn to hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants as part of the "Fuel Switch" funding mechanism under the Combined Heat and Power Act. All three projects have a combined capacity of around 1,5 gigawatts and require an investment volume of around 1,6 billion euros.
After a brief period of parallel operation, the coal-fired unit and the formerly oil-fired turbines of the old combined heat and power plant at the Münster site will be completely shut down in spring 2026. From the mid-2030s, the plants will be operated with up to 100 percent low-carbon hydrogen – "if this is then available in sufficient quantities."
Photo above
EnBW's new H2-ready power plant in Stuttgart-Münster © EnBW
