We are firmly committed to phasing out fossil fuel and have made decarbonization a core element of our corporate strategy. Our fuel switch projects are bridging the gap between coal and natural gas and eventually hydrogen. At the same time, we are investing massively in creating a sustainable supply. Our goal is to achieve a fully climate-neutral (net-zero emissions) approach to producing electricity and heating by 2040.
EnBW’s first H2-ready gas power plant is being built on its Stuttgart-Münster site. The former coal boiler and heating oil-driven turbines have been replaced by a highly efficient gas turbine system with an output of 124 megawatts. The switch will lead to coal-free district heating generation in the metropolitan area of Stuttgart in the course of 2025.
Phasing out fossil fuel is one of the most important goals of the energy transition. EnBW actively supports the Paris Agreement and the resulting decarbonization targets set by the EU (2050) and Germany (2045). We are stepping up our own transformation activities and aiming for net-zero emissions within the company by 2040.
Renewable energies alone have thus far been unable to meet demand. Gas power plants represent an interim solution, covering weather-related fluctuations in renewable generation and ensuring security of supply. The advantage of gas power plants is that they are highly flexible in terms of their management and are much more environmentally friendly than coal power plants. They also pave the way for low-carbon or green hydrogen as the energy source of the future.
CO₂ equivalent of electricity production in grams per kilowatt-hour
* generated using 100% renewable energy (source:
The term “fuel switch” refers to the process of replacing fossil fuel. For us, this means that we are modernizing our power plant portfolio and initially switching from coal to more climate-friendly natural gas to generate electricity and heating. In the second step, in the 2030s, only low-carbon gases or hydrogen are set to be used. That is why we are building new gas power plants in a way that enables hydrogen to be used and blended at a later date. These measures are the reason why EnBW is leading the way in Germany.
Fuel switch projects: committed to being coal-free
In Stuttgart-Gaisburg, we replaced a coal-fired combined heat and power plant with a modern gas heating plant back in 2019. We have initiated further fuel switch projects at our three EnBW sites in Altbach/Deizisau, Heilbronn and Stuttgart-Münster. Our aim is to continue on this path to a coal-free future at the other plants and develop our sites based on the corresponding conditions.
EnBW operates conventional power plants across seven different sites and has a stake in other plants. Our power plants not only boast good availability and profitability, but also very high degrees of efficiency – for example, by producing combined heat and power.
The waste heat from a power plant can be used in its surrounding area to heat buildings. It can also be used as process heat. In this case, more useful energy is generated using the same amount of fuel, which means the efficiency level is higher. A power plant that uses both electricity and heat together is called a combined heat and power plant.
Every year, we invest millions of euros in optimizing the technology. Not all of our power plants actively supply the market. The older block at Altbach/Deizisau combined heat and power plant, for example, has been moved into grid reserve, which means that it will only go online at the request of the transmission system operator in order to ensure grid stability.
An overview of our power plants and sites in which we have a stake
Stuttgart-Gaisburg combined heat and power plant first went online in 1950. It generates reliable, efficient and eco-friendly energy for Stuttgart’s district heating grid. Three gas engines at the site produce electricity and district heating in combined heat and power mode. With an additional heat storage facility boasting a capacity of 300 megawatt-hours, it plays an important role as a peak and reserve power plant for the Stuttgart / mid-Neckar district heating region.
- Energy source: natural gas
- Fuel switch site
- Plant output: 30 MW
- District heating output: 310 MW
Altbach/Deizisau combined heat and power plant first went online in 1899. It generates reliable, efficient and eco-friendly energy for the mid-Neckar region. Three gas turbine plants and two hard coal-fired blocks at the site produce electricity and district heating in combined heat and power mode. Combined heat and power plant 1 has been part of the grid reserve since 2017 and guarantees grid stability. Combined heat and power plant 2 has been in operation since 1997.
- Energy sources: hard coal, fuel oil and natural gas; hydrogen from 2035
- Fuel switch site
- Plant output: 1,018 MW
- District heating output: 280 MW
Heilbronn combined heat and power plant, one of the biggest hard coal power plants operated by EnBW, first went online in 1923 and is located in an industrial and commercial park by the Neckar on the outskirts of the city. Three hard coal-fired blocks at the site produce electricity and district heating in combined heat and power mode. For balancing purposes, a battery energy storage system with a capacity of five megawatt-hours was commissioned at the power plant in 2017.
- Energy sources: hard coal; natural gas from 2027; hydrogen from 2035
- Fuel switch site
- Plant output: 1,028 MW
- District heating output: 320 MW
Walheim power plant first went online in 1964. In the future, it will be able to sustainably recycle sewage sludge from the Baden-Württemberg region. A gas turbine will be used at the site during times of peak demand in the power grid, while a state-of-the-art sewage sludge combined heat and power plant will also produce electricity and district heating as a by-product in the future. The environmentally friendly district heating that is extracted could supply up to 300 households.
- Energy sources: fuel oil and, from 2028, sewage sludge
- Plant output: 143 MW
Marbach power plant first went online in 1940. It serves as a reserve power plant or as special technical equipment for grids, guaranteeing grid stability and security of supply in southern Germany. Marbach 3 and Marbach 4 gas turbines at the site produce urgently needed electricity when required. It also has storage tanks for light fuel oil to ensure that the plants have a sufficient supply of fuel at all times.
- Energy source: fuel oil
- Plant output: 395 MW
- Thermal output: 1,254 MW
Rheinhafen steam power plant in Karlsruhe (RDK) first went online in 1955. It generates reliable, efficient and eco-friendly energy to supply the Karlsruhe economic region. A combined cycle gas turbine plant and two hard coal-fired blocks at the site produce electricity and district heating in combined heat and power mode. Block 8, which has been in market operation since 2014, is one of the most efficient hard coal-fired blocks in the world with a net efficiency level of 46 percent.
- Energy sources: hard coal and natural gas
- Potential fuel switch site
- Plant output: 1,811 MW
- District heating output: 220 MW
Stuttgart-Münster combined heat and power plant first went online in 1908. It generates reliable, efficient and eco-friendly energy for the mid-Neckar region. Two gas turbine plants, three hard coal-fired boilers and a waste incineration plant at the site produce electricity and district heating in combined heat and power mode. In addition, a large-scale heat pump generates district heating using the cooling water it discharges.
- Energy sources: residual waste, hard coal, fuel oil and natural gas; hydrogen from 2035
- Fuel switch site
- Plant output: 238 MW
- District heating output: 450 MW
Mannheim large-scale power plant was commissioned in 1921 and has been reliably supplying the Rhine-Neckar region with electricity and district heating ever since. The steam produced by the combustion of hard coal can be used by special district heating turbines to generate heat. Thanks to this combined heat and power (CHP), the overall efficiency level is considerably higher than that achieved by the separate generation of electricity and heat.
- EnBW stake in the power plant: 32%
- Energy source: hard coal
- Plant output: 2,146 MW
- District heating output: 1,500 MW
As one of the most modern hard coal power plants in the Federal Republic of Germany, Rostock currently has one of the highest degrees of efficiency of any hard coal power plant in Europe at 43.2% (62% with full utilization of heat extraction). The medium-load power plant was commissioned in 1994 and was the first new building of its kind in the new federal states. A special feature of Rostock power plant is its 141.5-meter-high cooling tower, which also serves as a chimney.
- EnBW stake in the power plant: 50.38%
- Energy source: hard coal
- Plant output: 553 MW
- District heating output: 150 MW
Our green power plants
We rely on the power of wind, sun and water. Renewable energies already account for around 60 percent of our power plant portfolio. We want to increase this share to more than 70 percent by 2030. That is why we are investing massively over the coming years in wind power and solar energy.
The use of natural gas is just a bridging technology in all power plants. Our long-term goal is to fully switch to low-carbon or green hydrogen fuel, a process we expect to complete by the mid-2030s. Before the switch can be made, however, the power plants must be upgraded and connected to the hydrogen grid that is currently being developed. Then they will be able to use 100% hydrogen.