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Combustion plants and nuclear stations need water to cool off the hot steam, which is created from burning fuel and used to rotate turbines. The discharge of cooling water to the environment causes thermal pollution to the receiving water bodies, resulting -inter alia- in risk for fish populations to suffer from hypoxia. Thermal power covers a significant share of the electricity consumption in Europe (60 %). Cooling water for electricity production is responsible for nearly 18 % of total water consumption in Europe in 2017. The use of cooling water is relatively high in western and eastern Europe. France and Germany have the highest consumption of cooling water; together they make up 45 % of Europe’s total consumption (EEA, 2018b).