idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Berlin, 2 April 2025 | Berlin must make its heat supply climate-neutral – this is what the Heat Planning Act stipulates. Heat storage systems play a central role in this. This shows a joint project by the Reiner Lemoine Institute (RLI), the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) and the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM) on behalf of the Berlin Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment (SenMVKU). Conclusion: Heat storage systems help to use excess heat, become less dependent on fossil fuels and relieve the power grid.
For Berlin, the scientists see a need for action in terms of land availability, legal uncertainties in the approval process and a need for information on geological conditions.
Seasonal heat storage systems help to shift excess heat from summer to times of higher heat demand in winter. There are different types of storage systems for this. The scientists consider aquifer heat storage systems to be particularly suitable for Berlin. These are open systems for the storage and recovery of heat in hydraulically closed groundwater layers.
"Heat storage systems help to use renewable energy more efficiently. They reduce dependence on fossil fuels and relieve the energy system. They are therefore essential for a climate-neutral heat supply in Berlin," says Marie-Claire Gering, researcher and project manager at RLI, summarizing the results.
Making more efficient use of waste heat and renewable heat in Berlin's district heating network
Heat storage systems help to make more extensive use of local waste heat and renewable heat sources, for example from data centres, wastewater heat or solar thermal energy. With rising prices for fossil fuels, for example due to emissions trading, and with a higher degree of electrification of the heat supply, heat storage systems are becoming more and more economically attractive.
More capacity for long- and short-term storage makes sense
Long-term storage systems could already increase the share of renewable heat and waste heat in BEW's Berlin district heating network by around five percent with a capacity of 700 megawatts from renewable energy and waste heat and a storage capacity of up to 440 gigawatt hours. Short-term storage systems such as tank heat storage systems could stabilize the power grid and cushion load peaks. The project results show that doubling or tripling the existing short-term storage capacity to up to 6.6 gigawatt hours would make sense for Berlin's district heating network.
District storage systems help to make greater use of urban heat sources
In decentralised district networks, aquifer heat storage systems could store up to 33 percent of the annual heat. These storage systems are particularly crucial for urban waste heat sources such as data centers or sewage systems, as they make their energy almost completely usable.
Land availability as a central obstacle: underground storage as a solution
Berlin has limited space for above-ground heat storage systems, which can also encounter hurdles in terms of building law and urban planning. Underground solutions such as aquifer heat storage are a promising alternative. However, it still has to be checked whether the Berlin underground is geologically suitable for these types of storage. The "Geothermal Energy Roadmap" adopted by the Senate is intended to close existing knowledge gaps.
Legal uncertainties slow down expansion – political course needed to be set
In addition to the technical challenges, legal uncertainties in the approval process, especially in the demarcation between mining and water law approval regimes, as well as a lack of transparency in administrative practice, make the implementation of heat storage systems more difficult. A political decision that defines heat storage systems as part of public services could accelerate the expansion. In addition, general challenges of the energy transition, such as high investment costs and other techno-economic obstacles, are relevant for heat storage expansion.
The results of the project will be incorporated into Berlin's heat planning. The final report and further information on heat planning in Berlin can be found at berlin.de/waermewende.
About the project partners:
The Reiner Lemoine Institute (RLI) is an independent, non-profit research institute that has been committed to a future with 100 percent renewable energy since 2010. In the three research units Transformation of Energy Systems, Mobility with Renewable Energy and Off-Grid Systems, RLI scientists work in an application-oriented and scientific manner for the energy and transport transition in Germany and internationally. Since its foundation, the open-source models developed at the institute have become firmly established in energy system modeling. RLI's mobility and electrification concepts are implemented by companies and the public sector worldwide. www.reiner-lemoine-institut.de
The Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) is a leading scientific institute in the field of practice-oriented sustainability research. Around 60 employees develop strategies and approaches for a sustainable economy – for an economy that enables a good life and preserves the natural foundations. The institute works on a non-profit basis and without basic public funding. The IÖW is a member of the "Ecological Research Network" (Ecornet), the network of non-university, non-profit environmental and sustainability research institutes in Germany. www.ioew.de
The Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM) is a non-profit association and independent research institute with more than 15 years of experience in interdisciplinary research on climate protection in the tension between law, economics and politics. The aim of our research is to accelerate the transition to a climate-neutral economic order, enable fact-based policy decisions and promote long-term development that is ecologically, economically and socially sustainable. www.ikem.de
Contact project management:
Marie-Claire Gering
Reiner Lemoine Institute
Researcher
Transformation of Energy Systems
marie-claire.gering@rl-institut.de
Press contact:
Timo Beyer
Reiner Lemoine Institut
Kommunikation
030 12084 3415
presse@rl-institut.de
Contact project management:
Marie-Claire Gering
Reiner Lemoine Institute
Researcher
Transformation of Energy Systems
marie-claire.gering@rl-institut.de
https://reiner-lemoine-institut.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025-04-02_Abschlu...
Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
Journalisten, Studierende, Wirtschaftsvertreter, Wissenschaftler, jedermann
Bauwesen / Architektur, Elektrotechnik, Energie, Geowissenschaften, Umwelt / Ökologie
überregional
Forschungs- / Wissenstransfer, Forschungsergebnisse
Englisch
Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.
Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).
Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.
Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).
Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).
