The first gas turbine at EnBW Energie’s hydrogen-ready gas-fired power plant in Stuttgart-Münster is about to enter the “hot commissioning” phase.

During this phase, the gas turbine is gradually operated at increasing power in order to test and adjust them.

The hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plant is currently being built at the Stuttgart-Münster site, which specializes in energy recovery from waste.

The 124MW gas plant will replace the original coal-fired boilers and heating oil-fired turbines at the site, and according to EnBW, this will make district heating generation in the Stuttgart urban area totally coal-free.

The gas plant will be fully operational in 2025 and will be ready for a hydrogen fuel switch to further decarbonise in the future.

“By switching from coal to gas and later to hydrogen, we are making an important contribution to reducing CO? emissions and ensuring a sustainable energy supply,” says EnBW project manager Ramona Bogenschütz, explaining EnBW’s Fuel Switch concept.

The Stuttgart-Münster waste-to-energy plant, together with the Stuttgart-Gaisburg and Altbach/Deizisau combined heat and power plants, forms the Mittlerer Neckar district heating network, which supplies heat to over 28,500 homes, 1,400 companies and 380 public institutions in Stuttgart and the region.

This site is the first of three power plant sites that EnBW switching from coal to gas in order to halve CO? emissions by 2030.