[en] The practical example of the Greater Cologne area is taken as a basis for demonstrating the fact that a nuclear energy transport system is able to contribute considerably to the coverage of energy needs of conurbations. For this purpose, those fractions in the energy demand of the Greater Cologne area, which can be covered by the output of the system involved, were investigated and extrapolated with a view to the earliest possible date of operation in the year 2000. The study also accounted for a substantial synthesis gas supply from an integrated coal gasification plant. The annual and daily characteristic of requirements was determined for the system in the light of the calculated market potentials allowing for the operation of three high-temperature reactors of 3000 MWth each. The technical details of the system were designed on the basis of these calculations. Taking into account any envisaged outage periods of the reactors and the storage possibilities of the system products, the load factor and the utilization rate of the system were calculated. It is demonstrated that also with a view to economic aspects it is not only possible but also advantageous to have the demand of district heat peaks covered by the system in question. (orig.)