GeoHardt GmbH has announced the location for a planned geothermal heating plant on the Rheinau district in Mannheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Up to three geothermal heating plants are planned for development by the company, which is a joint venture between German utilities EnBW and MVV Energie.
The selected site, known as Franzosenhäusel, lies between the B36 federal highway and the A6 motorway, south of Hallenbuckel Street. The site is owned by the city of Mannheim and has an area of about 28,000 square meters. Most of the area will be needed during drilling and construction, but the heating plant is expected to occupy only about 10,000 square meters upon completion.
The selection of the Franzosenhäusel site is the result of extensive investigations conducted by GeoHardt. Back in 2023, the company conducted an extensive seismic survey across almost 7000 hectares in the Hardt region to identify potential geothermal drilling targets.
GeoHardt aims to tap into natural hot water deposits underground, or the traditional hydrothermal systems.
“Utilizing geothermal energy from water-bearing strata is a proven technology. It has been in use for over a century and is reliably employed at more than 40 locations in Germany alone,” said Stefan Ertle, Managing Director of GeoHardt.
The next step for the proposed project is the secure the mining permit for the heating plant from the State Office for Geology, Raw Materials and Mining (LGRB) at the Freiburg Regional Council. Construction of the drilling site can begin only after this approval. Recent approval process in the state have taken up a year or more, so drilling site construction is not expected until 2027.
“With the Franzosenhäusel site, we can celebrate the first success of our intensive site search. We look forward to starting the next project phase and thank the city for its support in paving the way for the first geothermal heating plant here in Mannheim,” commented Matthias Wolf, Managing Director of GeoHardt
Source: GeoHardt GmbH
