HoSt secures long-term heat-as-a-service contract with Eins Energie

At the heart of this partnership is HoSt’s 31 MW biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant, which will supply heat to the district heating network of Chemnitz, Germany.

The electricity generated will be fed into the public grid. The installation is scheduled for commissioning in mid-2027.

This agreement, the value of which has not been disclosed, supports Eins Energie’s plan to considerably increase the proportion of renewable heat for the city of Chemnitz.

With Eins Energie as the region’s leading utility company, the project is committed to setting a benchmark for sustainable district heating systems worldwide.

Sustainable energy technology

The CHP plant will be equipped with an extensive exhaust gas purification system, ensuring that NOx emissions are less than 1/3 of the already low legal limits.

The significantly better internally agreed emission values of the plant, which for the aforementioned NOx, for example, are only 60 mg/Nm³ compared to the legal limit of 200 mg/Nm³, were one of the criteria for awarding the contract to HoSt in a competitive tendering process.

The biomass cogeneration plant will be equipped with a continuous emission measurement system per the German law of Ordinance on medium-sized combustion plants: 44th BImSchV.

Promoting sustainability on-site

The plant will be fueled with “Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz” (EEG) compliant biomass in the form of untreated wood from forest residues, shredded material from landscape conservation, or street wood cuttings.

Up to 90 percent of this feedstock will be sourced from a maximum radius of 250 kilometres around Chemnitz.

To ensure EEG-compliant fuel procurement, the operator must carry out complete and transparent quality and origin documentation and have this confirmed by an independent environmental auditor through annual certification.

Our ‘Heat as a Service’ model supports Eins Energie in its endeavors to generate 100 percent renewable district heating by 2045, with the new power plant generating around 10 percent of district heating from renewable, predominantly regional resources. As we are both the client and operator of the plant, we can utilize our expertise to ensure the extremely cost-efficient operation and therefore an attractive heat price. This partnership is an example of how modern energy systems can fulfill today’s requirements for sustainability, efficiency, and reliability commented Jesse Buiteveld, Business Development Manager at HoSt.