An 80-year-old coal-fired power station in Germany has been demolished using explosives weighing as much as a small baby whale.

The Luenen plant just outside Dortmund was commissioned in 1938, but its dismantling began in June 2020, part of Germany's plans to abandon coal by 2038.

The demolition team used three controlled but enormous explosions to destroy its 110-meter-high cooling tower, the 250-meter chimney and the 70-meter boiler house.

READ MORE:

Foreign students in UK want fees refund

How did ship get stuck in Suez Canal?

Where did COVID-19 come from?

"The reinforced concrete buildings had to be pre-drilled," said Andre Schewcow, chief of blasting operations during the demolition.

He explained the team needed to bore a total of more than 2,100 holes in the various buildings to plant the charges. The destruction required a massive 420 kilograms of explosives, just under the average weight of a newborn Gray Whale.

"We weakened the steel buildings, which meant we had to use burner teams to prepare the buildings so the explosive charges, which can separate the steel, could then collapse the building," said Schewcow. 

He added: "I am very satisfied, the buildings did exactly what we wanted." 

Despite the fossil fuel still accounting for a quarter of the country's energy mix, Germany has decided to close all 84 of its coal power stations by 2038. 

However, climate activists say the timescale isn't ambitious enough, criticizing the government's decision last year to go ahead with opening a new coal plant.

Video editing: Terry Wilson

Cover image: Ina Fassbender/AFP