AGFW main report on district heating published

02/01/2023

Source: Energy & Management Powernews

The 2021 Main Report of the District Heating Association AGFW was prepared with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM). He sees much need for expansion.

On January 31, the district heating association AGFW published its new main report on the development of district heating in Germany. The figures show that in district heating networks the share of climate-neutral heat generation, consisting of renewable energies and waste, is already 30 percent. This is twice as good as the rest of the heating sector, which averages 13 percent climate-neutral heat generation, said Karen Janßen of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM).

The institute was involved for the first time in the main report, which has been collected since 1971. Thus, in addition to the AGFW's member survey, data from the state statistical offices were included, as well as from the Federal Network Agency, the Federal Ministry of Economics, the Federal Heat Pump Association, and the Agency for Renewable Energy (AEE).

As much as 30 percent of district heating is climate-neutral

The data collected for the report serve as a basis for current statements on the district heating industry and for the further design of the heat transition. "Today, 14 percent of German households are supplied with district heating," AGFW President Hansjörg Roll summed up. According to the goals of federal policy for climate neutrality by 2045, this figure must continue to rise in the coming years. "According to the plans of the German government, the heating market of the future should be dominated by two technologies: climate-neutral district heating and heat pumps," Roll said.

"The main report provides the data basis for the progressive transformation of the district heating sector towards climate neutrality," he explained further. In the past, he said, the heat transformation was driven by the companies. With the municipal heat planning, which is prescribed and promoted by the legislator, a new drive would now come, Roll hopes.

Double district heating networks by 2045

"With a total length of statistically more than 31,000 kilometers of district heating networks in Germany, we have a good basis for further committed network expansion," said AGFW Managing Director Werner Lutsch. For a climate-neutral heating future, however, this network must be doubled in the next 20 years. Already today it is two and a half times as long as the German highway network.

The industry is on a good path, even if there are partly strong regional differences. For example, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia lead the way in rolling out heating networks, each with a length of over 4,000 kilometers. In contrast, Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as Bremen and Hamburg, are pioneers in renewable energy in district heating networks, the report said.

Since the district heating system is flexible in the use of generation technologies, the network should be expanded more in urban areas, Roll called for. In order for the transformation process in climate-neutral heat generation to succeed, technologies such as geothermal energy, waste heat utilization, large-scale heat pumps, solar thermal energy and combined heat and power plants using hydrogen as a fuel would have to be increasingly developed and expanded. For this, a reliable investment framework and further funding are needed, the report concluded.

The AGFW Main Report Status 2021 is available on the Internet.

Author: Susanne Harmsen