Heat Decarbonisation

The heating of buildings accounts for almost one third of the European Union's total energy demand. And most of that heat is provided by burning fossil fuels. With the European Commission currently developing a Smart Sector Integration Strategy in the context of the European Green Deal, it is timely to reflect on the transformative challenge of heat decarbonisation and to present principles for smart heat electrification in Germany and Europe.

Despite significant efforts, the energy renovation rate in Germany has remained stagnant for years. Accordingly, renewable energies such as synthetic fuels or electric heat pumps are given high priority in order to achieve climate targets in the building sector even without advanced savings in the energy demand of buildings. But how likely, resilient and costly are such scenarios? What is the true value of energy efficiency in buildings?

The presentation and more can be found on our website: