At the 2nd Thuringian Heat Conference on April 29, 2026, in Erfurt, our colleague Mr. Spukti gave a technical presentation on the use of large-scale thermal storage systems in district heating.
The focus was particularly on ground-source storage systems as an economical and scalable solution for seasonal heat storage. These systems enable the efficient integration of renewable heat sources such as large-scale heat pumps, solar thermal energy, or waste heat, and—by decoupling generation from consumption over time—significantly contribute to increasing the flexibility of heating networks and reducing CO₂ emissions.
The conference, attended by approximately 240 participants, demonstrated that the transformation of heating networks in Thuringia is already making tangible progress and that flexible, integrated solutions are becoming increasingly important. The focus was particularly on underground storage reservoirs as an economical and scalable solution for seasonal heat storage. They enable the efficient integration of renewable heat sources such as large-scale heat pumps, solar thermal energy, or waste heat, and—by decoupling generation and consumption over time—contribute significantly to making heating networks more flexible and reducing CO₂ emissions.
We would like to thank the organizers — Thuringian Renewable Energy Network (ThEEN) e.V., TWS Thüringer Wärme Service GmbH, SWE Energie GmbH, and Stadtwerke Energie Jena-Pößneck GmbH — for the insightful discussion.
