Karlsruhe/Landau, June 24, 2025 – The next step on the way to a climate-neutral heat supply for Landau: Natürlich Südpfalz GmbH & Co. KG, a subsidiary of Vulcan Energy, and the Landau-based energy supplier EnergieSüdwest AG (ESW) have now concluded a long-term heat supply contract with the involvement of Landau’s city council. The signing took place yesterday at an official meeting in Landau’s town hall, which was also attended by the Mayor of Landau, Dr. Dominik Geißler, Mayor Lukas Hartmann and representatives of ESW, Vulcan and the town council.

Vulcan is contractually obliged to provide ESW with renewable geothermal heat from various geothermal production sites over a period of 35 years. ESW will distribute the heat via the district heating network to successively supply significant parts of the city of Landau. The signing of the contract follows the resumption of the feed-in of climate-neutral heat from the geothermal heating plant in Eutzinger Straße directly into ESW’s district heating network in April 2025. ESW will then distribute the heat to households and businesses in Landau via the local district heating network. The agreement is an integral part of the Lionheart project, which combines the production of renewable energy and climate-neutral lithium – a further step towards a sustainable and climate-neutral heat supply in the region.

In order to expand the supply of renewable heat in Landau, Vulcan is planning to expand the geothermal infrastructure as part of the HEAT4LANDAU project, the geothermal part of the Lionheart project. The project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (now BMWE) with up to 100 million euros, comprises five additional drilling sites with up to 24 boreholes. The resulting geothermal energy will be used to operate Vulcan’s lithium extraction plant and will also be sold to ESW and fed into ESW’s district heating network. At the same time, ESW is planning to expand the district heating network in line with demand in the coming years in order to absorb and distribute the additional capacity.

Vulcan’s geothermal power plant in Insheim already supplies around 6,500 households with renewable electricity. The heat supply in Landau is currently running on a smaller scale with a heat output of around 2 MW from the geothermal heating plant on Eutzinger Strasse. The capacity will be gradually expanded to up to 300 MW over the course of the Lionheart project. This will create the potential to supply all households in Landau and other municipalities in the region with climate-neutral heat in the future.

“The heating transition is one of the biggest challenges at municipal level – and we need reliable, local solutions for this,” explain Lord Mayor Dr. Dominik Geißler and Mayor Lukas Hartmann. “We are pleased that we not only have the geothermal conditions in Landau to provide our heat supply in the future, but also two reliable partners with expertise and innovative strength in Vulcan Energy and EnergieSüdwest to exploit this potential.” The heat supply contract that has now been signed ensures that the heat transition in Landau can be completed on good terms for all parties involved and, above all, for the people of Landau.

Dr. Thomas Waßmuth, CEO of EnergieSüdwest AG, says: “As a local energy supplier, it is our responsibility to create solutions that are also sustainable for future generations. With this contract, we are ensuring that more and more households in Landau can be supplied with clean, regional heat in the future. The expansion of our district heating network is already underway – and step by step, we are creating the basis for an affordable and climate-friendly heat supply for everyone.”

Carsten Bachg, Chief Operations Officer and Managing Director of Vulcan Energie Ressourcen GmbH, says: “The signing of this contract with EnergieSüdwest is an important step towards a sustainable and long-term district heating supply that significantly reduces dependence on fossil fuels and strengthens regional energy independence. This project is a central component of our strategy to supply the region with climate-neutral, renewable energy. Together with ESW and the city of Landau, we are thus creating a reliable basis for a sustainable heating transition in Landau – a role model for Germany and Europe.”

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