Press release, May 4, 2024
Construction starts on district heating storage facility
Ground-breaking ceremony at Gewerkenstrasse in Gelsenkirchen in the presence of NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Mona Neubaur and Mayor Karin Welge
Gelsenkirchen/Essen. On Saturday, May 4, the ground-breaking ceremony for Iqony Fernwärme GmbH’s new district heating storage facility took place at Gewerkenstrasse in the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen. The North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of Economic Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Mona Neubaur and Gelsenkirchen’s Mayor Karin Welge were also present. Both emphasized the outstanding, exemplary importance of the project for a successful heating transition in NRW and especially in the Ruhr region.
After a series of preparatory construction works had already been carried out in recent weeks, the ground-breaking ceremony now marks the start of the actual construction phase for the 57 meter high and 28 meter diameter storage tank. It holds around 31 million liters of water, which serves as a storage medium.
“The heat storage facility will enable us to integrate more and more renewable heat sources and industrial waste heat into our supply network in the future. Depending on the weather conditions, the amount of heat that can be absorbed by the storage tank is enough to supply the whole of Gelsenkirchen with heat for a weekend,” explains Mattias Kuhles, Technical Director of Iqony Fernwärme.
Funding from the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
The project, with an investment volume of around 30 million euros, is being supported by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with funds from the “Program for efficient energy use, renewable energy and energy saving” – progres.nrw for short. The funding amounts to around 7.1 million euros.
Economics Minister Mona Neubaur accordingly emphasizes the fundamental importance of the project: “We are supporting the transformation of the heating supply in North Rhine-Westphalia with lighthouse projects like this one. Heat storage facilities are a central component for the climate-friendly expansion of district heating and for strengthening the security of supply. In this way, we are ensuring competitive framework conditions for people and businesses in our state.”
City of Gelsenkirchen welcomes the project
For the city of Gelsenkirchen, which is currently working with partners and infrastructure service providers – including Iqony Fernwärme – to develop a municipal heating plan, Mayor Karin Welge also welcomes the project and is pleased that construction has now begun. “From the city’s point of view, the project is a win-win situation because the storage facility will further improve the already good climate footprint of district heating. This in turn is a welcome contribution to achieving our municipal climate targets.”
Further project partners
Iqony Fernwärme was supported in the planning of the project by the consultancy firm EEB ENERKO Energiewirtschaftliche Beratung GmbH; the construction work is being carried out by Bilfinger Industrial Services Germany GmbH.
Construction of the heat storage facility will take around two years; Iqony Fernwärme currently expects it to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2026.
Importance of the project for Iqony
From the point of view of the Iqony Group, which is part of the Essen-based STEAG Group, the start of construction of the heat storage facility once again underlines the seriousness of its own transformation efforts: “The sale of STEAG and therefore also Iqony to the Spanish infrastructure investor Asterion Industrial Partners is associated with a noticeable strengthening of our investment power. In addition to renewable energies, hydrogen production, new and hydrogen-capable power plants and energy storage facilities, we are focusing in particular on district heating. With a volume of around 30 million euros, the construction of the Gelsenkirchen heat storage facility visibly emphasizes these growth targets. At the same time, the project also brings us another step closer to our self-imposed goal of becoming climate-neutral as a Group by 2040,” says Dr. Andreas Reichel, CEO and Labor Director of STEAG and Iqony, explaining the project in terms of Group strategy.
