Gas crisis driving heat pump boom in Europe, IEA says

(EurActiv, 1 Dec 2022) Global heat pump sales surged by nearly 15% last year, led by the European Union, where energy security concerns caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine are driving demand, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The biggest growth rates were reported in the European Union, where heat pump sales rose by 35%, according to the IEA’s special report on “The Future of Heat Pumps”, published on Wednesday (30 November).

And the trend looks set to continue, with Poland, the Netherlands, Italy and Austria seeing sales growth double in the first half of 2022 – roughly twice the amount seen over the same period last year.

Falling gas deliveries from Russia are acting as a catalyst for heat pump deployment in the bloc, where governments agreed on plans to cut Russian imports by two-thirds this year and bring them down to zero “well before 2030”.

Looking forward, annual heat pump sales in Europe could rise to seven million by 2030 – up from two million in 2021 – if governments hit their climate and energy goals, the report said.

“In the past, clean energy options were supported for climate-related reasons,” explained Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director.

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EurActiv, 1 Dec 2022: Gas crisis driving heat pump boom in Europe, IEA says