"Scharnhorst" was powered by three Brown, Boveri, & Co geared steam turbines, while "Gneisenau" was equipped with three Germania geared turbines. The turbines drove three-bladed screws that were in diameter. Steam was provided to the turbines by 12 Wagner ultra-high-pressure oil-fired water-tube boilers, which produced pressures up to and temperatures up to . The engines were rated at at 265 revolutions per minute (rpm), and on trials produced up to at 280 rpm. When steaming in reverse, the engines were rated for . The ships had a designed speed of ; on trials both vessels beat their designed speeds—"Scharnhorst" hit and "Gneisenau" made . The ships carried of fuel oil as designed; additional storage areas, including hull spaces between the belt and torpedo bulkhead, increased capacity to . At maximum fuel load, the ships were expected to steam for at a cruising speed of ; "Scharnhorst" reached only at 19 knots, while "Gneisenau" managed only at that speed.