Key takeaways from European Heat Pump Association forum

The European Heat Pump Association’s (EHPA) recent two-day event in Brussels came as heat pump sales across 13 European countries fell 47% year on year. Attendees discussed how policy and the industry can reverse the decline, stressing the need to better communicate the benefits of heat pumps to customers.

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EHPA Director General Paul Kenny opened the association's recent two-day heat pump forum in Brussels by acknowledging that Europe’s heat pump sector is “not in a good place” and faces multiple challenges.

On the forum’s first day, EHPA released figures showing a 47% drop in heat pump sales across 13 European countries in the first half of 2024, compared to the same period last year. On the second day, EHPA President Patrick Crombez reflected on last year’s forum, noting that despite EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson’s commitment to the sector, the market slowdown had already begun by then.

At this year’s event, over 300 industry leaders and policymakers were assured by panelists that Europe has the technology to get back on track. EHPA has set a goal of 60 million heat pump installations by 2030, which could cut Europe’s reliance on Russian gas in half. Kenny noted that the 24 million heat pumps already installed save 5.5 billion cubic meters of gas, equal to 1.6% of the EU’s total annual consumption. Crombez remained confident, saying that “if the game is fair, I’m pretty sure the technology will prevail.”

Speakers pointed to several reasons for the market slowdown. Member of Parliament Thomas Pellerin-Carlin cited inconsistent policies and national decisions. Other speakers agreed, noting that this causes confusion for consumers. European Parliament Vice President Martin Hojsík also expressed concern over misinformation, increasing support for gas in central Europe, and the influence of oil and gas companies.

After the delay of a promised Heat Pump Action Plan, questions about direct support for the sector from the EU went partially unanswered, with officials noting the new legislative body is just weeks into its term. Former MEP Ciarán Cuffe predicted the new parliament could shift right, with a stronger focus on competitiveness.

Business leaders were told they would play a key role in driving the heat pump market's future growth. A session on scaling clean tech in Europe called for more private-public collaboration. Paula Schmid Schmidsfelden, director of the Energy Resilience Leadership Group, said public funds should be used to attract private investment, revising industrial trade policy to be more euro-centric, and building clean electricity infrastructure.

Martin Dierycks, general manager of Daikin Europe’s Environment Research Center, said each country needs a sales driver. “It's not a question of payback; the value of your house increases immediately,” he said.

Cuffe agreed, noting that different countries will prioritize narratives like cost, air quality, job creation, or energy independence. Dierycks added that while residential sales are down, the commercial market is “tremendously increasing.”

In a session on large heat pumps and district heating, Ken Somers, a partner at McKinsey & Company, called it a “beautiful opportunity” for Europe to regain cost competitiveness in energy, but cited lack of industry knowledge as a barrier. Jürgen Fischer, president of Danfoss Climate Solutions, said that large-scale technology needs to be industrialized and compact for cost-efficiency. He told policymakers that supporting heat pump production also requires supporting the supply chain for its components.

While attendees were already convinced of heat pumps' potential, several speakers emphasized the need to relay this message to both residential and industrial customers. Marta Navarrete, head of European policy at Iberdrola, said misinformation is a big barrier and stressed the importance of communicating the “magic” of heat pumps and supporting customers.

Felix Plog, CEO of Thermondo, said the key to success is being as “frictionless as possible” for customers by simplifying processes and ensuring predictable payments. “At a time of disruptive policy making, it is even more important to explain to customers,” he added.

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