Simulation · Minimal Energy · Heat and storage
Bochum · MARK 51°7
A former car plant above the Dannenbaum colliery as a walkable model: the new MARK 51°7 district is to draw heating and cooling from the water of the old mine, from 820 and 340 m down.
Real are terrain and buildings (Geobasis NRW, OpenStreetMap), the shafts, depths and temperatures of the mine water. The former car plant is a simplified hall, the position of the energy centre is schematic, and the start of mine-water heat operation is not documented. With your data the model shows more, such as heat demand per building, temperatures in the grid or expansion stages.
Mine water heating in Bochum: cars were built on this site from 1962 to December 2014, with the workings of the Dannenbaum colliery below. Today the MARK 51°7 district is being built here on 70 ha, with logistics, research, offices and a university, and it is to draw heating and cooling from the water of the old mine.
The chain of the place: above the old Hugo shaft a borehole reaches about 820 m deep, where the mine water is 27–28 °C. Heat pumps raise it to about 48 °C and a grid distributes it in the district. The second borehole at the Schiller shaft hit a gallery of the colliery at 340 m; the water there, at about 17 °C, cools the buildings in summer.
A fifth-generation low-temperature grid distributes heating and cooling, with storage tanks of 65,000 l each; about 3,200 t of CO₂ are saved per year. The event ‘Winter evening in town’ shows peak demand, the thermal image of the houses and lit windows. For everyone who plans or explains districts, heat and structural change: municipalities, developers, suppliers, chambers, universities, schools and museums.
The chain of the place
- 01
Before: Cars were built here until 2014; the galleries of the Dannenbaum colliery lie below.
- 02
Warm water: Mine water at 27–28 °C comes up from 820 m deep.
- 03
Heat pumps: Heat pumps raise it to about 48 °C and a grid distributes it in the district.
- 04
Cooling: Water at 17 °C comes from 340 m and cools the buildings in summer.
- 05
The result: This is how the new MARK 51°7 district heats and cools, with about 3,200 t less CO₂ a year.
What is shown – why – for whom
| Ce qui est montré | Pourquoi | Pour qui |
|---|---|---|
| The chain Before – Warm water – Heat pumps – Cooling – The result | Pourquoiexplains heating and cooling from mine water in five steps | Pour quiSchools, the public |
| Hugo shaft and Schiller shaft with depth and temperature | Pourquoishow where heating and cooling come from | Pour quiPlanning, universities |
| Heat view on a winter evening | Pourquoishows the houses as a thermal image | Pour quiHeat planning, municipalities |
| Diagram ‘Energy flow now’ | Pourquoishows how fuels, power, heat and losses flow in this hour | Pour quiSuppliers, universities |
| Diagram ‘A day on the grid’ | Pourquoishows demand, generation, storage and imports over 24 hours | Pour quiGrid planning, teaching |
| Diagram ‘Capacity and output’ | Pourquoisets installed capacity against generated output by source | Pour quiAssociations, planning |
| Event ‘Winter evening in town’ | Pourquoishows peak demand with chimney smoke and lit windows | Pour quiThe public, exhibitions |
Facilities and areas in the model
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Car plant
From 1962 to December 2014 cars were built here. Afterwards the plant was demolished (hall simplified, position schematic).
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MARK 51°7
The new district on 70 ha: logistics, research, offices and university. The buildings stand as in the surface model; before 2017 they are hidden.
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Hugo shaft: heat from 820 m
Above the old Hugo shaft of the Dannenbaum colliery a borehole reaches about 820 m deep. The mine water there is 27–28 °C; heat pumps raise it to about 48 °C.
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Schiller shaft: cooling from 340 m
The second borehole hit a gallery of the colliery at 340 m. The water there is about 17 °C and cools the buildings in summer.
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Heating and cooling grid
A fifth-generation low-temperature grid distributes heating and cooling; storage tanks of 65,000 l each. About 3,200 t of CO₂ are saved per year (route schematic, start of operation not documented).
Processes in the model
The chain of the place
- 01Before: Cars were built here until 2014; the galleries of the Dannenbaum colliery lie below.
- 02Warm water: Mine water at 27–28 °C comes up from 820 m deep.
- 03Heat pumps: Heat pumps raise it to about 48 °C and a grid distributes it in the district.
- 04Cooling: Water at 17 °C comes from 340 m and cools the buildings in summer.
- 05The result: This is how the new MARK 51°7 district heats and cools, with about 3,200 t less CO₂ a year.
One day
- 01“Play the day”
- 02the sun moves, wind and demand change every hour
- 03the stacks above the plants grow and shrink
- 04storage charges and discharges
Fifty years
- 01▶ at the year (time travel)
- 021975
- 032000
- 042016
- 052025
- 06plants appear, run, are shut down and dismantled; the history of the place jumps to every year
How a district can use the model
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District and supply
Boreholes, heat pumps, grid and buildings in one picture: the model shows where the heat comes from and where it goes – from the Hugo shaft into the district.
Pour quiDevelopers, suppliers, building operations
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Municipality and structural change
What becomes of a car plant? Time travel shows 1975, 2000, 2016 and 2025 from the same camera, until shafts and grid stand in the model in 2025. A picture for talks about land, new businesses and heat.
Pour quiMunicipalities, economic development, chambers
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Schools and universities
How can mine water be used for heating, what is a fifth-generation heat network? The five steps from ‘Before’ to ‘The result’ fly to each part, and it lights up.
Pour quiTeachers, geothermal and building services students
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Museums and industrial heritage
Mining, car making, a new district: below the former plant lie the galleries of the Dannenbaum colliery, and on its site MARK 51°7 is being built. The history of the place jumps to every year.
Pour quiMuseums, industrial heritage, exhibitions
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Public communication
The winter evening in town shows when demand peaks: lights, cooking, heating. The thermal image of the houses shows where heat is used.
Pour quiPublic relations, neighbours, users in the district
What you can change
Controls
- Year 1975–2025: plants appear and disappear, mix and grid change; ▶ lets the years run.
- Season: snow, foliage, meadows, chimney smoke; more heat and power demand in winter, more sun in summer.
- Time of day: sun position, dusk, night with windows and street lights; demand follows the daily profile.
- Wind: rotors turn faster, sea state, smoke plumes lie flat; wind power rises, curtailment in a storm.
- Sun: clouds and soft shadows; photovoltaics deliver more or less.
- Demand (households, industry): more lit windows, plant lighting, chimney smoke; more expensive plants step in.
- Views: power, heat, fuels, storage, CO₂ – each with its own columns, stacks and values.
Events
- Winter evening in town: Demand is at its peak: lights, cooking, heating. Bochum with the quarter on the site of a former car plant. Look for: thermal image of the houses, chimney smoke, lit windows; demand on the right.
- Winter evening without wind or sun (tiles): Season winter, evening, calm, overcast: demand peaks, the stacks above wind and solar shrink, fossil plants, storage and imports carry the load.
- Stormy night (tiles): Night, gale, low demand: wind delivers more than is needed, storage charges, surplus is curtailed or exported.
What the model gives a district
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01
Looking underground
The shafts with heat from 820 m and cooling from 340 m stand in the model in their place, with the temperatures of the mine water.
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02
Heating and cooling in one grid
The fifth-generation grid distributes heating and cooling at low temperatures, with storage tanks of 65,000 l each and about 3,200 t less CO₂ a year.
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03
Structural change as a picture
Colliery, car plant, district: time travel and the history of the place show how a district that heats and cools with the water of the old mine grows on industrial land.
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04
The city in the evening
On a winter evening windows glow, chimney smoke rises and the thermal image shows where heat is used. At dusk the power runs from the substation to every house connection.
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05
In the browser and on the big screen
A browser is enough, and large projections work too. Eleven more places and the map of Germany are part of the same model, designed by an artist and developer.
Your district as a model
Would you like to show your district, your heat network or your mine water system this way, with real temperatures and demand? Write to us or give us a call, and we will discuss which data the model needs. We will send you the password to the simulation on request.
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Minimal Energy: Bochum · MARK 51°7
Basis and limits
Real are terrain and buildings (Geobasis NRW, OpenStreetMap), the shafts, depths and temperatures of the mine water. The former car plant is a simplified hall, the position of the energy centre is schematic, the start of mine-water heat operation is not documented.
Public sources the model is based on:
- Geobasis NRW (dl-de/zero-2.0)
- OpenStreetMap-Mitwirkende (ODbL)
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Real are terrain and buildings (Geobasis NRW, OpenStreetMap), the shafts, depths and temperatures of the mine water. The former car plant is a simplified hall, the position of the energy centre is schematic, and the start of mine-water heat operation is not documented. With your data the model show…