[en] Of the amount of pimary energy used in condensing power stations in the Federal Republic of Germany, already for years 63% have to be booked as losses. The high heat loss has an ever increasing impact degree on the environment. In applying the steam-power process, by accounting for the trend to build larger power plant units in order to take advantage of the lowering of costs, the thermal efficiency has decreased. This development is a consequence of the growing quantities of steam to be processed in the LP part of the steam turbines, whose control causes great difficulties in design. The possibility for a solution of the thermal and design problems is offered by application of secondary-medium cycles whose significance and consequences are investigated in the present paper. A stimulus for this investigation were considerations of the 'Project Management Non-Nuclear Energy Research' about coupling geothermal sources with a refigeration cycle in order to gain heat for district heating and to generate electric power. While in this case low-temperature heat was to be utilized, the project management proposed the application of such a circuit in connection with the use of waste heat in large power plant processes, the exchaust steam of the turbine coming into question as heat carrier for the vaporization of proper fluids within a secondary-medium cycle. It may be expected that a secondary-medium cycle connected in series with the primary steam circuit will bring thermal and financial advantages which should, to a not unimportant degree, result in a decrease of the cost of power generation. Last but not least, it will contribute to a relief of the environment. (orig.)