Germany is building colossal urban thermos flasks to heat homes this winter
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its weaponisation of energy supplies has left Europe short of vital gas supplies so countries are finding new innovative ways to keep their citizens warm this winter.
Key takeaways
- A massive steel tower in Berlin, Germany, will serve a similar purpose to a coffee thermos flask this upcoming winter, a report from AP News reveals.
- The tower, located on an industrial site near the banks of Berlin's Spree River, will provide heat to homes using a similar method to thermos flasks.
- During winter, though, it will meet roughly 10 percent of Berlin's hot water requirements.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2022) 'Germany is building colossal urban thermos flasks to heat homes this winter', 311 Institute, 23 September. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/germany-is-building-colossal-urban-thermos-flasks-to-heat-homes-this-winter/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
A massive steel tower in Berlin, Germany, will serve a similar purpose to a coffee thermos flask this upcoming winter, a report from AP News reveals.
The tower, located on an industrial site near the banks of Berlin's Spree River, will provide heat to homes using a similar method to thermos flasks. It's roughly 150 feet (45 meters) tall and holds 14.8 million gallons (56 million liters) of hot water.
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The new facility was unveiled last week at Vattenfall's Reuter power station. It will be Europe's largest heat storage facility once it's completed at the end of the year. It's worth noting that a bigger version is already planned for construction in the Netherlands.
According to the developer of the tower, utility company Vattenfall, it will heat Berlin homes this winter even if Russia cuts off gas supplies due to Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine.
"It’s a huge thermos that helps us to store the heat when we don’t need it," said Tanja Wielgoss, who heads the Sweden-based company's heat unit in Germany. "And then we can release it when we need to use it."
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"Sometimes you have an abundance of electricity in the grids that you cannot use anymore, and then you need to turn off the wind turbines," she continued. "Where we are standing we can take in this electricity."
The facility cost taxpayers 50 million Euros ($52 million), and it will have a thermal capacity of 200 megawatts. The tank can keep water insulated for up to 13 hours and can meet most of Berlin's hot water needs during the summer. During winter, though, it will meet roughly 10 percent of Berlin's hot water requirements.
The Berlin tower will have the double benefit of reducing reliance on Russian gas supplies and also reducing emissions used to heat water when needed. The facility holds water brought to close to boiling temperature by electricity from German solar and wind power plants. When renewable energy exceeds demand it can go towards heating the tower as an innovative form of grid scale energy storage.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its weaponisation of energy supplies has left Europe short of vital gas supplies so countries are finding new innovative ways to keep their citizens warm this winter.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
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Sources and further reading
- report from AP News apnews.com
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 23 September 2022. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2022). Germany is building colossal urban thermos flasks to heat homes this winter. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/germany-is-building-colossal-urban-thermos-flasks-to-heat-homes-this-winter/
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