Clean heat for Hellabrunn Zoo’s giant tortoises, elephants and gorillas

Stadtwerke München (SWM) has begun supplying sustainable heat to Hellabrunn Zoo. The municipal utility that keeps Munich running around the clock supports the zoo in its efforts to become even more climate-friendly through its district heating network. All of the animal houses and service buildings on the right side of the Auer Mühlbach river, namely the Jungle Pavilion, World of Small Monkeys, Elephant House, Turtle House and, currently undergoing extensive revamp work, the Jungle World, have been converted to district heating. These indoor habitats tend to have significantly higher levels of energy consumption as they are home to species of animals that need to be kept warm all year round. In addition, the office building, feed storage, veterinary practice, workshops and staff residence have also been converted. Under the terms of the contract, SWM will take over operations of the district heating station at the zoo. Prior to this, the aforementioned animal houses were supplied with heat via a gas boiler system.

Hellabrunn Zoo now receives its heat from the SWM district heating network, including from the nearby South Munich Energy Site, where it is produced in a climate-friendly way from geothermal energy and combined heat and power. As SWM continues to expand the capacities of its geothermal systems, the proportion of renewable heat supplied to the zoo will increase accordingly.

Zoo director Rasem Baban: "The switch to district heating for the majority of the animal houses and all the office and service buildings at Hellabrunn is a big step towards sustainability, which enables us to significantly reduce the zoo's CO₂ emissions. Thanks to the reliable support of SWM, the facilities for our animals, which need warmth, will continue to be constantly kept at the right temperature."

Dr Karin Thelen, SWM Managing Director of Regional Energy Transition: "The zoo's heat supply system is future-proof. We are pleased that the share of district heating is also growing steadily within the municipal family. District heating, which increasingly comes from regional geothermal energy, helps protect the climate and makes us less dependent on price fluctuations in the energy market. This is one of the reasons why it plays a key role in Munich's heat planning."