The electrical energy students from Faculty E visited the Großkraftwerk Mannheim (GKM) at the end of the summer semester of 2026 once again—after a long time—within the scope of the lecture courses Power Plants (Prof. Hunger), Electrical Power Supply (Beuchert, Hunger), and Smart Grids (Dr. Wäresch). 

The students were especially fortunate that, thanks to the personal connections of Mr. Beuchert (lecturer), a visit was possible shortly before the plant’s scheduled revision. In addition, the employee responsible for the power engineering facilities at the GKM, Mr. Steinle, even interrupted his vacation in order to enable the Mannheim students to tour electrical installations that are normally not open to visitors.

After an introductory film about the GKM, a lively discussion took place on current topics in energy engineering and on the role of the GKM within the energy-economics landscape. The TH students showed great interest and demonstrated that with expert questions requiring deep technical knowledge. As a result, this part of the program took significantly more time than originally planned. 

Eventually, the group did get to the heart of the power plant: the generator with its generator main lead and the generator circuit breaker could be viewed just as closely as the turbines and transformers. Of course, the students also enjoyed the great view from the 120-meter-high roof of the Kessel building of Block 9. In particular, Mr. Steinle from the GKM repeatedly managed to draw attention—again and again—with great enthusiasm—to special technical features and details. Time flew during the interesting and educational excursion, and after more than four hours the enthusiastic students were finally sent on their way.

(Author: Prof. Dr. Thomas Hunger)