Why size matters for decarbonising the heating and cooling sector

In an exclusive interview at Enlit Europe, Aurélie Beauvais, Managing Director of Euroheat & Power, speaks about decarbonising the heating and cooling sector and outlines the key hurdles and emerging technology as the sector is set to be important in the next decade of Europe's energy transition.

The heating and cooling sector represents half of Europe's energy demand with over 60% coming from fossil fuels. Decarbonising this sector presents a significant challenge due to its size, seasonality, and fluctuating demand.

Beauvais notes that the size of the heating and cooling sector is the biggest challenge. Decarbonisation efforts compete with other sectors for renewable electricity sources, creating competition and strain on the system.

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"So in this case, size does matter, in particular, because you have a lot of other sectors that are trying to decarbonize at the same time, and that are competing with renewable electricity sources to decarbonize their processes."

She adds that the sector's seasonal nature, with peak demands in winter and summer, necessitates readily available and dispatchable clean energy solutions. This lack of flexible baseload capacity leads to system volatility and price spikes for consumers and industries.

Beauvais notes that a whole-system approach is crucial for affordability and that focusing solely on developing renewable electricity sources, while crucial, is insufficient for achieving affordability in the heating and cooling sector.

Said Beauvais: "You need to look at the needs of the system in terms of being able to provide this energy at all times, clean energy at all times and at an affordable price."

Therefore, she emphasizes that one needs to focus on the energy sources that can complement eachother.

Beauvais also notes that there are several key technological trends are paving the way in the sector such as large heat pump units. To find out more about these technological enablers, watch the interview.