For more than a century, the imposing Sendling thermal power station in the south of Munich was fueled solely by gas, but now the heat from groundwater is gradually taking over.
In 2021, a geothermal unit was attached to this 19th century power plant, a rectangular building full of tubes.
The facility, one of the largest of its kind in Europe, began construction in 2016, long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis.
Its implementation, shortly before the war, was very opportune, since the city, like the rest of the country, needs to find energy sources to replace Russian gas.
"Treasure"
"We are based on a treasure, with an ideal geological situation", comments Christian Pletl, director of geothermal activities at the municipal utility SWM. For centuries, southern Germany has been known for its thermal baths, which are also heated by groundwater.
Throughout the European Union (EU), deep-sea geothermal energy, which is achieved by capturing heat from groundwater, is gaining interest to produce heat while reducing carbon emissions.
The war in the Ukraine encouraged that interest. The conflict led to a drop in Russian gas supplies, driving up prices and prompting Europeans to look for alternatives.
Although prices have recently fallen in the short-term markets, the crisis exposed the vulnerability of the continent in the field of energy.
Green and non-intermittent geothermal energy has many advantages. "There has been a real boom in demand since this crisis began"Christian Pletl told AFP.
At the end of 2022, the German government published a roadmap that includes the goal of producing 10 Twh of geothermal heat per year by 2030, ten times more than today.
To achieve this, Berlin plans to promote "at least another 100 geothermal power projects" in the country, which depends 50% on gas for heating.
In France, the government on Thursday presented a plan aimed at increasing deep geothermal power projects by 40% by 2030.
In Hungary, the government of Viktor Orban published a decree last October to expand the use of that energy, and Italy plans to restore "In the next weeks" public support.
In Denmark, the largest geothermal power plant in the country should open in 2030 in Aarhus (east) and provide 20% of district heating.
Heat for 80,000 homes
In Sendling, a 3-kilometre underground pipe was installed to capture the thermal water with a pump, which has a temperature of more than 110ºC. Then it goes to the heat networks, cools off and returns underground.
The installation is not yet working at 100% of its capacity but it will be able to heat 80,000 homes starting this year. At the plant, everything is automated or managed from a control room located in the historic building.
"We are happy that we took this decision before it became clear that there would be a lack of gas in Europe"explains to AFP Thomas Gilg, director of the plant.
The Municipality of Munich, a city of 1.5 million inhabitants, is promoting a multitude of projects of this type. By 2035, 1,000 million euros (almost 1,100 million dollars) will have been invested so that half of the city’s heating works thanks to this technology.
But is geothermal energy a silver bullet? "It is a building stone, but only part of the solution"Gilg clarified.
On the other hand, not all territories are adapted to this energy, which requires that there be bags of groundwater.
In addition, energy must be consumed locally, as it is difficult to transport. "We cannot respond to needs outside of Munich with this plant"Gilg notes.
Drilling can cause earthquakes if it is done in unstable rock. In Strasbourg, in eastern France, a power station was blamed for shaking of magnitudes 2.1 to 3.6 in 2020.
According to the European Commission, with geothermal energy, "up to 25% of heating needs" of the European Union could be satisfied without emitting carbon.
