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Refurbish, don’t close: innovative energy ideas for swimming pools in urban areas

Two projects have qualified for the next phase of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy’s innovation contest entitled “UrbanWave – the swimming pool of the future”. Their concepts show how municipal indoor pools can be modernised to become climate-friendly and commercially viable.

Swimming pools need a lot of energy to heat the water in the pool and the indoor space, as well as for ventilation and other technical equipment. The competition “UrbanWave – the swimming pool of the future” is seeking ways to modernise existing pools in an energy-efficient and user-focused way that optimises costs. The competition is part of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy’s Energy Research Programme.

Five teams have been developing ideas for municipal indoor pools since June 2026. Their task is to significantly cut energy requirements, to improve the quality of the service and the ambience, and to serve as role models for other pools.

The teams presented their findings to an expert jury at a colloquium on 17 September 2026. The jury assessed the concepts in terms of their technical innovations, their economic viability, their conceptual and structural quality, and their transferability. Two projects qualified for the next phase of the competition: KliMoPlanElbe für for the Elbgaustraße pool in Hamburg and NetZero Olvenstedt for Magdeburg-Olvenstedt pool.

Two paths to the swimming pool of the future

So what makes these two projects so special? KliMoPlanElbe combines improvements in the energy performance of the building shell with new equipment, ventilation and water technology. This includes a new approach to airflow, photovoltaics and a digital twin to optimise the running of the technology. For an efficient heat supply, the team is considering a heat pump solution and possible integration into a local heat network. The approach is to be transferable to other pools of the same design in Hamburg, and useful for other projects.

NetZero Olvenstedt also combines an improvement of the building’s energy performance with modern technology, and places a focus on digital operation of the technology. The researchers take energy-related, operational and equipment data to optimise the deployment of energy and the operating costs, and to improve the ambience in the building and in the water. The typical construction of the swimming pools means that the solutions can to a large degree be transferred to the many other pools of the same and similar types.

From planning to realisation

KliMoPlanElbe and NetZero Olvenstedt can now prepare applications for the build and operate phases. During the “build” phase, they are to realise their ideas. Following this, they aim to test and optimise the facilities in real operations. The developments are being supported by overarching monitoring.

The other three projects are completing their design phases as planned. Their findings are also to be published and provide ideas for the modernisation of other pools.

The UrbanWave innovation contest is financed from the special fund for infrastructure and climate neutrality.