In her opening address at the Heat Pump Forum on Thursday 28 September, the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, reiterated the Commission’s strong commitment to climate neutrality by 2050 through the ‘European Green Deal’. Pointing out that heating accounts for almost 50% of the energy consumed in the EU, she argued that there was an urgent need to make the transition to renewable energy sources.
Even more worrying is that 70% of this energy still comes from fossil fuels, in particular natural gas.
For Kadri Simson, the solution to this dependence lies in the widespread adoption of renewable energy sources and the introduction of technologies such as heat pumps, which she describes as an “advanced and mature technology for decarbonising buildings”.
Referring to the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (see EUROPE 12854/13), the European Commissioner stressed its essential role in the transition to ‘zero emission’ buildings and announced an action plan on heat pumps, which should be published once the directive has been adopted.
This plan, based on key pillars such as partnership, communication, continuity and financing, aims to accelerate the deployment of heat pumps, with the ambition of increasing the number of installers by 50% by 2030, making them the new standard, Europe’s “new boiler”.
That same day, at a workshop on the European Hydrogen Bank’s international auctions, Ms Simson spoke about the ‘H2Global’ project. The aim of this initiative is to hold Europe’s first hydrogen auction by mid-2024. The EU has set an ambitious target of importing 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030, making it a key player on the global market.
Emphasis was placed on the need to develop the infrastructure and to adopt a flexible approach, allowing each Member State to participate according to its needs. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)