With the successful acceptance of the large heat pump, which took place at the beginning of November at the Johnson Controls plant in Aarhus (Denmark), the construction of the test infrastructure for the joint AQVA-HEAT project should be completed by the end of this year.
The Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) involved running various load points of the 2-stage ammonia heat pump from Johnson Controls and serves to verify the parameters (output, efficiency, spread of heat sources and heat sinks) of the heat pump required for use at the Zittau site.
The delivery and installation of the heat pump in the installation hall of the AQVA-HEAT plant infrastructure on the premises of Stadtwerke Zittau will take place this week. This will be followed by the step-by-step commissioning of the river water extraction subsystems and its return to the Mandau, the direct evaporator (heat pump stage 1), the NH3 heat pump (stage 2) and the heat feed into the municipal district heating network. At the same time, the seasonal testing of the overall system will begin with the aquatic ecology studies on the Mandau. In addition to measuring the temperature and oxygen field in the Mandau, further detailed biological and chemical investigations will be carried out in order to assess the effects of the plant operation on the watercourse (Mandau).
Together with our project partners from the Institute of Air Handling and Refrigeration from Dresden and the Zittau-based Fraunhofer IEG, testing of the entire system can begin in spring 2026.
AQVA-HEAT III is the first to demonstrate an innovative heating concept that uses surface waters such as the Mandau in Zittau as a sustainable heat source. The project investigates both the technical performance and the ecological impact of the overall system and develops optimized components and automation solutions on this basis. The knowledge gained is intended to pave the way for water-based heating solutions in municipal supply networks that are eligible for approval.
