Germany’s Urban Heat Transition: E.ON Maps Path to Climate Neutrality

Germany’s Urban Heat Transition: E.ON Maps Path to Climate Neutrality

(IN BRIEF) Germany aims for climate neutrality by 2045, focusing on transforming heating systems in major cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, and Cologne. E.ON’s latest data highlights the prevalence of district heating and the adoption of heat pumps, alongside challenges posed by fossil fuel reliance. The company’s heat map provides insights crucial for local authorities drafting sustainable heating plans, aiming to enhance energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions across urban centers.

(PRESS RELEASE) ESSEN, 8-Jul-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — E.ON (ETR: EOAN), one of Europe’s largest operators of energy networks and energy infrastructure, is committed to playing a pivotal role in Germany’s quest to achieve climate neutrality by 2045. With buildings accounting for around a third of the country’s total primary energy consumption and about 40 percent of all CO2 emissions, the heat transition in major urban centers is crucial. In line with the German government’s law on heat planning and decarbonization of heating networks, which mandates local authorities to draft heating plans for climate-neutral local heat supply, E.ON has published up-to-date data on heating technologies and renovation status in Germany’s four largest cities: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, and Cologne.

Marc Spieker, Chief Operating Officer Commercial at E.ON, emphasizes, “In metropolitan areas, the energy transition fundamentally involves transforming heating. These urban centers offer the greatest potential to significantly cut CO2 emissions and harness synergies for efficient heat supply. E.ON is at the forefront, supporting cities and municipalities in their decarbonization journey. Our digital tools and heat map data provide transparency and highlight concrete implementation opportunities.”

How Major German Cities Heat

E.ON’s heat map data reveals that district heating is a favored heating method in many large cities. In Germany’s four cities with populations exceeding one million, district heating is prevalent: 36.5 percent in Munich, 36.2 percent in Hamburg, and 33.6 percent in Berlin. Cologne lags with an 11.2 percent share, but has set an ambitious goal to increase this to about one-third by 2030. District heating is especially efficient and climate-friendly in metropolitan areas.

Berlin leads in the adoption of heat pumps, with a 4.3 percent share. This means four out of every hundred houses in Berlin use environmentally friendly heat pumps. Hamburg follows with a two percent share, while Munich and Cologne are close behind with 1.9 percent.

There are notable differences in the use of fossil fuel heating systems across the four cities. Hamburg has the lowest share of gas heating systems at 36 percent, followed by Berlin at 37 percent, and Munich at 40.8 percent. In Cologne, over half of the households still rely on gas (56.6 percent). The share of oil heating systems ranges from 16.3 percent in Munich to 22.7 percent in Cologne, with Berlin and Hamburg at 19.7 percent and 20.9 percent, respectively.

Renovation Status in Major Cities

The energy-efficient renovation of buildings is key to reducing heat consumption. In Berlin, 59.5 percent of buildings are partially or fully renovated, while Cologne follows closely at 54.9 percent. Hamburg has 53.7 percent of its buildings renovated, whereas Munich lags with 41.3 percent, due to a high proportion of old buildings.

High Savings Potential with New Energy Solutions

Private homeowners can significantly contribute to the heating transition by renovating and updating their heating systems. Investing in new energy solutions is not only beneficial for the climate but also financially advantageous. A recent study by E.ON and RWTH Aachen University highlights the potential savings: for example, the annual energy bill for an unrenovated terraced house from 1990 can be reduced by 69 percent, from €2,870 to €904, by switching to a heat pump, solar system, and battery storage. In a 2005 detached house, costs can fall by 72 percent, from €2,947 to €815 per year.

E.ON provides environmentally friendly heating solutions and digital tools, such as the E.ON heat map, to aid cities and municipalities in assessing refurbishment rates, CO2 emissions, and heating technology distribution. The digital heat map, developed by E.ON and the startup digikoo, offers transparency about the current status of the heating transition across Germany, supporting local authorities in preparing their sustainable heating plans, which are due by 2026 or 2028 at the latest.

For more information and to access the digital heat map, visit www.eon.com/waermewende.

Media contact:

Spokeswoman
Isabel Reinhardt
isabel.reinhardt@eon.com
tel:+49 1736840253

SOURCE: E.ON SE