© Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

What are the most important technologies for the heat transition? Just asking…

No energy transition without a heat transition. Do you want to know what large-scale heat pumps, heat storage and heat networks can do? Follow us for a short excursion into the world of the heat transition.

This is what it’s all about: the energy transition in the heating sector is a prerequisite for the success of the wider energy transition.

More than half of all the energy used in Germany is used for heating buildings and for heat required for commerce and industrial processes. The heat transition wants to bring those figures down quite considerably and gradually switch the supply to renewables and unavoidable waste heat. This requires the planning, financing and construction of new energy installations and heat networks. Heat networks allow for an efficient use of renewables instead of fossil fuels.

After all, the warmth in our living rooms and the hot water we wash our hands with still all too often stems from coal and gas. For now, this usually also applies to district heating – but that is to change. Under the Heat Planning Act, the share of renewable energy or unavoidable waste heat in each heat network must reach at least 30% by 2030 and 80% by 2040, before reaching 100% in 2045.

A whole range of renewable heat sources is available for the transition, always depending on the local context.

© dena/KWW

Large-scale heat pumps, which are increasingly powered with electricity from renewables, will be able to account for a major portion of the heat supply within future heat networks. They rely on ambient heat, such as heat from water bodies, geothermal heat, air or waste heat from sources such as waste water. “Unavoidable waste heat from industry or data centres also offers a great deal of potential in this regard. In this way, the electricity sector and heat networks can be coupled and mutually reduce the strain on them.

The ‘platform for waste heat’ shows the commercial potential for waste heat in Germany: so far, more than 3,000 companies have reported 25,000 cases where there is potential for this. The objective is to use this potential to create heat networks and become more energy efficient.

Other sources of heat include solar thermal energy, thermal energy from water, air and biomass, and geothermal energy. Depending on underground characteristics, the latter is available at stable rates and irrespective of the season, allowing it to play a key role in the system.

© dena/KWW

Heat storage facilities are essential links between different sources of heat. They are used to decouple energy generation and energy use by making heat available when it is needed.

New technologies are already being tested in practice to allow for a swift heat transition. In the regulatory sandbox for the energy transition ‘large-scale heat pumps’, their use is being tested within five heat networks – including planning, construction and opderations. The public utilities of Munich are expanding their use of geothermal energy and are gradually changing to new sources of heat. A project in Henningsdorf entitled ‘heat hub’ highlights the role of heat storage in the transition to renewable and unavoidable sources of heat.

For an overview of key technologies and support services, consult the digital platform hosted by the Competence Centre for the Municipal Heat Transition (KWW).