Closing the door on fossil fuels Heat Pump Accelerator identifies bottlenecks and proposes solutions

Against this background, the European Heat Pump Association and the European Climate Foundation – coordinators of a new heat pump roadmap – recently published the Heat Pump Accelerator and formally presented a copy to Kadri Simpson, the EU Energy Commissioner. A total of 23 organisations, including industry, governments and NGOs, helped draw up the roadmap to identify the barriers facing the heat pump sector, and to devise solutions to overcome them.

Separately, the European Commission is due to publish its first ever heat pump action plan by the end of 2023, to help the sector reach the REPowerEU target. This target means 60 million additional heat pumps installed in Europe by 2030. Today, there are around 20 million, and demand is increasing all the time, despite the bottlenecks already referenced.

The Heat Pump Accelerator is aiming to overcome these bottlenecks and create an improved framework for actions that lead to the accelerated deployment of heat pumps in line with the EU’s climate and energy security objectives. These actions include:

• Monitoring annual progress on heat pump deployment;

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU set new targets for reducing energy imports. Heat pumps were identified as a cornerstone of the move away from imported fossil fuels and, under REPowerEU, a target of doubling annual heat pump installations in five years was set. There are, however, various bottlenecks that need to be addressed to increase heat pump deployment and production in line with the REPowerEU goals. These include high costs, information gaps, a lack of skilled workers, supply chain bottlenecks and power sector integration.

• Helping increase demand for the installation of heat pumps in line with the overall objective;

• Reducing production costs and installation times for heat pumps;

• Increasing the number of installation companies and skilled installers;

• Kicking off a knowledge platform for professionals;

• Enabling the development of smart heat pumps;

• Facilitating a flexible energy system.

Thomas Nowak, Secretary General of the European Heat Pump Association said: “Europe is closing the door on fossil fuels and getting renewable on the path to net zero. Heat pumps are now recognised as having a crucial role, as shown by the wide range of contributors to the Heat Pump Accelerator. We thank the European Commission for receiving the report and now urge it to take heed of its recommendations. Above all, the sector needs a clear signal from policymakers of their long-term support.”

The barriers identified in the Heat Pump Accelerator range from upfront and operational costs through to a lack of clear information for consumers and a shortage of installers. The five overarching solutions proposed in relation to these are:

• Make clean heating the standard;

• Support European industry leadership;

• Increase energy system integration with flexible heat pumps;

• Make it easier for consumers in terms of information and affordability

• Develop required skills/workforce. The EU Heat Pump Accelerator process brought together key stakeholders and decision-makers to make progress towards overcoming barriers for deployment. It also offers an overview of the solutions discussed by this group to the barriers they identified.

In deference to the European Commission’s upcoming Heat Pump Action Plan, EHPA believes that the barriers identified, and solutions proposed, in the Heat Pump Accelerator will be a useful input. All involved in the initiative are fully committed to working together to overcome the obstacles and to help achieve the objectives of the REPowerEU goals.

See link to the Heat Pump Accelerator at https://www.ehpa. org/press_releases/acceleratorlaunch/