Sustainable Heat Generation: onoff Innovative District Heating Project
Wunstorf, May 5, 2025 – Geothermal energy is considered one of the key elements for the energy transition. Future projects focusing on the innovative use of geothermal heat are gaining importance. onoff automation services GmbH, a company of SpiraTec AG, is at the forefront of these developments and applies its expertise to realize such projects. A current example: The expansion of a geothermal power plant in Rhineland-Palatinate, with the goal of providing climate-neutral district heating to a neighboring town.
For the past 10 years, the geothermal power plant has been generating climate-neutral electricity with a capacity of 5 MW. With this expansion, a new goal comes into focus: the potential district heating supply for an entire town. As part of this project, a massive water storage tank was installed and equipped with state-of-the-art heat exchangers and fans to realistically simulate the town’s heat demand. If this simulation proves successful, the town could potentially be supplied with climate-neutral district heating in the future.
The plant operators entrusted onoff automation services GmbH with the hardware design for the simulation, the construction of the control cabinets, as well as the assembly and project management. The entire implementation had to be completed within just four months to meet a deadline for receiving EU funding. Despite the tight timeframe, onoff was able to successfully meet the high requirements.
“This project impressively demonstrates how sustainable energy concepts can be successfully and pragmatically implemented in practice, even within a short timeframe. The potential transition to district heating for an entire town is a decisive step toward a CO2-neutral future,” says Frank Jahr, Managing Director of onoff automation services GmbH. “We are proud to contribute our expertise to future projects of this kind and thus play an important role in the energy and heat transition,” adds Frank Jahr.
The geothermal power plant uses brine from the Upper Rhine Graben to extract lithium through a special process – a crucial raw material for the production of batteries for electric vehicles. In the future, this technology could play a key role not only in energy supply but also in electromobility. The lithium deposits in the Upper Rhine Graben, which are even larger than originally thought, are generating international interest and strengthening the region’s position as a significant hub for sustainable energy generation.
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