Overview

• Hamburg Wasser and Hamburger Energiewerke have secured €60 million in funding and begun construction at the Klärwerk Dradenau site under the oversight of Environment Senator Katharina Fegebank.
• The plant will consist of four 15 MW heat-pump units that raise wastewater-extracted thermal energy to 95 °C for delivery and storage in an adjacent gas and steam turbine (GuD) facility.
• Officials expect the GuD plant to be commissioned by December, enabling intermediate heating or temperature boosting before injection into Hamburg’s district heating grid.
• Operation of the wastewater heat pump is slated for 2026, when it will supply climate-friendly warmth to as many as 39,000 households.
• The combined system aims to cut up to 90,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually and support Hamburg’s target to eliminate coal-based district heating by 2030.