Austria’s newest pumped storage power plant, Limberg III, has been officially opened in Kaprun after four years of construction. The facility was inaugurated in the presence of political and business representatives.
The plant adds 480MW of capacity to the existing Kaprun power group, increasing turbine capacity by 53% to 1382MW and pump capacity by 75% to 1120MW. VERBUND, which operates the facility, said the plant strengthens Austria’s grid stability and security of supply by providing flexible storage and generation.
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“Limberg III makes a decisive contribution to maintaining the country’s grid stability and security of supply by providing highly efficient flexibility. The expansion of the ‘Green Battery’ in the heart of Austria is an important building block for the successful energy transformation,” the company stated.
AFRY, which supported the project as local site supervision partner for VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH, provided technical and commercial supervision, geological documentation, and consulting on natural hazards. The project included tunnelling, cavern construction, a 558-meter pressure shaft, and a machine cavern located 450m underground.
“With a total installed capacity of 480 MW and a partial converter, Limberg III is designed to respond flexibly to grid demands, storing and releasing energy during peak periods. It uses existing reservoirs Mooserboden and Wasserfallboden without requiring new surface storage,” AFRY noted.
Ernst Zeller, Head of Hydro at AFRY, said: “I’m incredibly proud of our team’s dedication and precision throughout this project, from the first geological surveys to the final inspections. Their expertise and commitment have been instrumental in delivering such a complex and forward-looking facility. I also want to sincerely thank our client, VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH, for the trust they placed in AFRY.”
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By GlobalDataThe project required complex engineering, including the lifting of a 355-tonne rotor into place in May 2025. The rotor was assembled underground over the course of a year, consisting of 80,000 stacked sheets. Each generator unit at Limberg III can operate at variable speed, with an output range of 20 to 240MW in turbine mode and 100 to 240MW in pumping mode.
VERBUND invested around €572 million in the project.
