KURZ and ENERGYNEST Officially Inaugurate Power-to-Heat System with Thermal Energy Storage

Sulzbach-Rosenberg/Germany, October 14, 2026: KURZ and ENERGYNEST officially inaugurated the new power-to-heat system at KURZ’s Sulzbach-Rosenberg site last week, together with project partners and representatives from government, industry, and the local community. The system, which is already operating successfully, combines a 3 MW electric heater with a thermal energy storage system, enabling KURZ to flexibly use renewable electricity to supply industrial process heat.

With a storage capacity of 12 MWh and 6 ENERGYNEST ThermalBattery™ modules, heat can be generated and stored when renewable electricity is available and supplied to production as needed. A directly connected ground-mounted photovoltaic system provides renewable electricity for the system. The power-to-heat solution generates more than 3,5 GWh of process heat per year, covering more than 70 percent of the heat demand of one production line. At the same time, it reduces CO₂ emissions by more than 700 metric tons annually.

From Project to Industrial Energy Supply

Around one year after the joint project was launched, the official inauguration marks another milestone for KURZ on its path toward an increasingly electrified, lower-carbon heat supply at its Sulzbach-Rosenberg site.

“Future-ready production also requires a future-ready energy supply. With the new power-to-heat system, we are taking an important step toward making our security production operations in Sulzbach-Rosenberg more sustainable and further reducing our use of fossil fuels. At the same time, we are making a deliberate investment in the future viability and long-term security of the site,” explains Dr. Andreas Hirschfelder, CEO of KURZ.

Ralph Hopfensitz, Executive Senior Vice President Global Technology, adds: “In addition to reducing CO₂ emissions, it is crucial for us that a solution like this proves itself in day-to-day operations. The system allows us to use surplus electricity from our own photovoltaic installation to generate process heat, reducing natural gas consumption in the production area it supplies by around 70 percent. In this way, we are implementing a more sustainable supply of high-temperature process heat under real-world production conditions.”

The system also demonstrates how the electrification of industrial process heat can be combined with thermal energy storage. The storage system decouples heat generation from the timing of heat demand in production. This allows electricity to be used more flexibly while ensuring a reliable supply of the process heat required for production.

“With today’s inauguration, we are no longer looking at just a concept or a pilot project, but at an industrial power-to-heat solution in operation,” says Alexander Robertson, CEO of ENERGYNEST. “For industrial companies, it is essential that electrification does not come at the expense of security of supply or production requirements. That is precisely why we combine electric heat generation and thermal energy storage in an integrated system.”

A Shared Milestone

At the official inauguration on October 7, representatives from KURZ and ENERGYNEST joined project partners, funding organizations, and guests from government, industry, and the local community. In addition to learning about the project’s implementation and the system’s significance for the KURZ site, guests had the opportunity to see the power-to-heat and thermal energy storage system in operation. As part of the opening ceremony, the system was officially inaugurated by (from left to right) Dr. Harald Schwartz and Bernard Heinisch (Members of the Bavarian State Parliament); Walter Kurz (Advisory Board, KURZ); Ralph Hopfensitz (CTO, KURZ); Dr. Andreas Hirschfelder (CEO, KURZ); Peter Kurz (Advisory Board, KURZ); Michael Rischke (Deputy District Administrator of Amberg-Sulzbach); Stefan Heckel (Project Lead, KURZ); Julian Buderus-Witte (Energy Manager, KURZ); Alex Robertson (CEO, ENERGYNEST); and Stefan Frank (Mayor of Sulzbach-Rosenberg).

The significance of the project beyond the Sulzbach-Rosenberg site was also reflected in remarks from representatives of government and industry. Dr. Harald Schwartz, Member of the Bavarian State Parliament, summed up the inauguration in three words: “courage, pride, and gratitude” — courage to actively address the challenges of transformation, pride in a long-established and successful industrial company, and gratitude for its willingness to take responsibility for both the site and the future through investments such as this one.

Bernhard Heinisch, Member of the Bavarian State Parliament; Michael Rischke, Deputy District Administrator of Amberg-Sulzbach; and Stefan Frank, Mayor of the City of Sulzbach-Rosenberg, particularly praised KURZ’s commitment and innovative strength, as well as the project’s importance for the region and Germany as an industrial location. Beatrice Schulz of the German Energy Storage Systems Association (BVES) and Annkathrin Paulus of the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) also emphasized the project’s significance as a model extending well beyond Sulzbach-Rosenberg.

Power-to-Heat for Industrial Process Heat

Process heat accounts for a significant share of industrial energy demand. For companies seeking to electrify their heat supply, one particular challenge is aligning the availability of electricity with the continuous demand for heat.

The solution implemented at KURZ therefore combines electric heat generation with thermal energy storage: The electric heater converts electricity into heat, which can either be used directly or stored in ENERGYNEST’s ThermalBattery™ and supplied to the production process at a later time. The project thus provides a concrete example of how power-to-heat and thermal energy storage can be integrated into existing industrial production sites.

The project received funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and serves as a model for scaling up electrified heat supply in industry. Its successful implementation underscores the potential of power-to-heat and thermal energy storage as key building blocks for climate-neutral industry.

Nominated for the dena Energy Award 2026

The project is also receiving recognition beyond its successful commissioning: The joint power-to-heat solution developed by KURZ and ENERGYNEST has been nominated for the dena Energy Award 2026 in the category ‘Move forward! – Integrated Strategies for Climate Neutrality.’ A jury comprising representatives from academia, business, the media, and government selected the project as one of twelve nominees for this year’s award. The award ceremony will take place on November 9, 2026, as part of the dena Congress in Berlin.