Legal loopholes slow down the use of industrial waste heat

07.10.2025

Source: E & M powernews

The use of industrial waste heat could make cities more climate-friendly. However, a study by the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility reveals significant legal gaps.

Industrial waste heat is one of the keys to decarbonizing the heat supply. Large quantities of previously unused energy could be integrated into urban heating networks. However, legal hurdles are slowing down the implementation of such projects. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility ("IKEM") in Berlin as part of the research project "hyBit - Hydrogen for Bremen's industrial Transformation" (see info box below).

The focus was on the question of how existing regulations influence the use of industrial waste heat. Using the example of a steelworks in the industrial port of Bremen, the author Charlotte Schwarzer-Geraedts analyzed the planning and approval requirements for systems such as heat pumps, heat exchangers and heat storage tanks. She also examined the legal conditions for the construction and operation of heating networks as well as possible feed-in requirements for waste heat generators.

The study shows that the legal requirements have so far been insufficient to exploit the potential of industrial waste heat. According to Ikem's assessment, the use of waste heat is not sufficiently anchored in the relevant laws. Instead of clear regulations, there is a web of different legal acts that complicate projects and deter investors.

Entitlement to feed-in

Ikem cites the feed-in law as an example: For producers of waste heat, there has so far been no entitlement at federal level to feed surplus heat into existing heating networks. A corresponding regulation exists in the Berlin Climate Protection and Energy Transition Act, for example, but is lacking in other federal states. According to Ikem, this gap makes the economic implementation of new heating network projects considerably more difficult.

Jana Eschweiler, Head of the Energy Law Department at Ikem, sees this as a key obstacle to the heating transition. She is in favor of a uniform specialist law that clearly regulates planning, approval and feed-in. Only such a framework could legally secure the use of industrial waste heat and create incentives for investment.

The legal uncertainty has so far resulted in many companies refraining from waste heat projects. According to the Berlin researchers, this not only hinders the transformation of individual sites, but also the achievement of national climate targets. Germany has committed to becoming climate-neutral by 2045 in the Climate Protection Act - a goal that can hardly be achieved without the heating sector, according to Ikem.

The "hyBit" research project

The "hyBit - Hydrogen for Bremen's industrial Transformation" project is investigating how hydrogen and the use of waste heat can drive industrial decarbonization in Bremen. Under the leadership of the University of Bremen, various partners from science, business and politics are working together to develop new concepts for a climate-neutral industry.

The aim is to establish an exemplary hydrogen and heating infrastructure in the industrial port of Bremen. Technical, economic and legal issues are being considered in equal measure - from production to transportation and use.

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and is part of the "Hydrogen Republic of Germany" funding program. In addition to the development of demonstration projects, the results should serve as a basis for energy policy decisions and facilitate the transfer to other regions.

The 55-page study "Legal regulation of industrial waste heat - A presentation of the framework conditions at federal level and using the example of the industrial port of Bremen" can be downloaded from the Ikem website.

Author: Davina Spohn