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 approach to producing electricity and heating by the 2030s.
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 The former coal boiler and heating oil-driven turbines have been replaced by a highly efficient gas turbine system with an output of 124 megawatts.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 climate neutrality by 2035.
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 has been fundamentally modernized in recent years so that it can generate even more eco-friendly and efficient heat for Stuttgart’s district heating grid in the future. A much smaller gas heating plant that is efficient and generates fewer emissions has completely replaced the mainly coal-fired combined heat and power plant in order to fulfill the peak and reserve function that is so important to the Stuttgart/mid-Neckar district heating region.
- Energy sources: gas, from 2035 hydrogen
- Fuel switch site
- Plant output: 300 MW
- District heating output: 310 MW
Altbach/Deizisau combined heat and power plant is an important economic factor in the region for ensuring a reliable, economical and environmentally friendly energy supply. EnBW operates several plants here with a total electrical output of around 1,200 megawatts.
- Energy sources: natural gas, from 2035 hydrogen
- Fuel switch site
- Plant output: 750 MW
- District heating output: 300 MW
The Heilbronn plant is located in an industrial and commercial park on the outskirts of the city on the Neckar. It is being operated as a combined heat and power plant. With an electrical output of 1,100 MW and a thermal output of 320 MW capable of being drawn off, it is one of EnBW’s large-scale hard coal power plants.
- Energy sources: hard coal, from 2035 hydrogen
- Fuel switch site
- Plant output: 1,100 MW
- District heating output: 320 MW
Walheim power plant was built between 1962 and 1967 by Neckarwerke Elektrizitätsversorgungs AG. It has two coal-fired blocks. Block 1 was connected to the grid in September 1964, Block 2 in August 1967. In the winter of 1981/1982, a gas turbine fired using light fuel oil was commissioned at the power plant in Walheim.
- Energy sources: coal and fuel oil
- Plant output: 1.5 MW
- Local heating output: 4 MW
Of the original three blocks, only Marbach 2 and 3 power plant blocks with a total output of 413 megawatts are still in operation today. They serve as safety reserves. This means that they must be operational at all times. Marbach 2 is a gas turbine plant in which jet engines manufactured by Rolls Royce drive the power turbines.
- Energy source: fuel oil
- Plant output: 300 MW
- Thermal output: 940 MW
Following a construction period lasting several years, a new hard coal power plant was commissioned on the Rheinhafen steam power plant (RDK) site: RDK 8. The new RDK 8 power plant plays a key role in generating an environmentally friendly energy supply. With a wide range of technical innovations, RDK 8 sets new global standards for efficient and environmentally friendly generation of electricity and district heating using hard coal.
- Energy source: hard coal
- Plant output: 912 MW
- District heating output: 220 MW
EnBW is one step closer to achieving the aims of the energy transition with the construction of a new gas turbine plant for generating electricity and heating based on natural gas at its Stuttgart-Münster site. The fuel switch to more climate-friendly natural gas is just a bridging technology on the way to energy generation using green gases such as hydrogen produced from renewable sources.
- Energy sources: natural gas, from 2035 hydrogen
- 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
Lippendorf power plant is jointly operated by LEAG and EnBW. Each owns a power block at the modern double-block plant. The starting signal for large-scale lignite-fired power generation was given in 1926, when the first turbogenerator belonging to the former Böhlen industrial power plant was connected to the grid. In accordance with the Coal-fired Power Generation Termination Act, the power plant site will remain connected to the grid until the end of 2035.
- EnBW stake in the power plant: 50%
- Energy source: brown coal
- Plant output: 1,840 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.