GeoSto

This “GeoSto” project aims to fully decarbonize and expand the district heating system in Neustadt-Glewe, Germany. The town has approximately 6,500 residents and is located about 200 km northwest of Berlin in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in the southwestern part of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The vast majority of the heat is provided by deep geothermal energy. One of the key features of deep geothermal heat utilization is that the availability of heat does not fluctuate seasonally and is therefore available at a constant level throughout the year. In contrast, the heat demand for heating buildings shows a distinct seasonal pattern, peaking during the winter months. As a result of this discrepancy between constant geothermal heat availability and seasonal heat demand, directly meeting the entire heat demand through deep geothermal heat is neither economically viable nor technically feasible due to the very low number of full-load hours.

A particularly interesting approach to solve this problem is therefore the combination of deep geothermal heat and seasonal thermal heat storage.

By integrating a seasonal heat store, the aim is both, to avoid the use of peak-load boilers and to significantly increase the fraction of heat from deep geothermal heat supplied to the district heating network. In addition, the use of a large heat pump is investigated to further cool the thermal water prior to injection.

A simulation study will examine possible technological options for achieving decarbonization and expanding the district heating network in Neustadt-Glewe, which will then be assessed in terms of economic viability and greenhouse gas reduction.

05/2026 – 12/2026

Neustadt-Glewe GmbH
https://www.erdwaerme-neustadt-glewe.de/

The MultiHeat project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) as a microproject under funding code 03ENM6026 by the project management agency Jülich (PTJ) on the basis of a resolution by the German Bundestag. he authors gratefully acknowledge this support and carry the full responsibility for the content of this publication.