Economics Minister Robert Habeck said on Wednesday after a virtual “heat pump summit” with companies and associations that the goal was six million heat pumps by 2030. Last year 150,000 heat pumps were installed in Germany. In 2024 it should be 500,000. That is achievable.
The problem: If 500,000 new heat pumps are installed every year from 2024, 4.5 million will be in operation by 2030 – plus those from 2023. The promised target of six million pumps by 2030 will not be achieved in this way. According to the ” Welt “, the six million goal is therefore not in the final paper of the summit.
According to the ministry, there are currently around one million installed heat pumps in Germany. However, their share of newly installed heating systems in 2021 was just under 17 percent – gas heating systems had a market share of around 70 percent.
The production capacity for heat pumps has been significantly increased, Habeck made clear. “But of course there are also a number of specific problems that need to be solved.” Above all, there is the question of skilled workers, from the trades to production. In order to attract more skilled workers, further training would have to be supported more and training tests adapted. There is also more immigration from abroad.
Building Minister Klara Geywitz said that energy-efficient urban redevelopment and cross-building district redevelopment should be co-developed via two funding programs via the state bank KfW. The heat transition must also be affordable. “Even those on a tight budget must be able to afford heat pumps.”
Heat pumps draw a large part of the energy for heating from the environment, such as air and groundwater. In order to make the heat usable, they need electricity for the drive and pump. The electricity should come from renewable energies.
According to the ministry, interest in heat pumps has risen sharply recently, so that there can already be long delivery times and bottlenecks in installation and grid connections.
The energy expert Lamia Messari-Becker from the University of Siegen told the dpa that heat pumps worked well in new buildings. “But the challenges of climate protection lie in the existing building.” Here the buildings, their energy quality or the infrastructure are so different that there cannot be a single solution.
The federal government should urgently allow a variety of technical ways. “A real heat transition is missing. You are still focused on electricity.” That is a fatal mistake, you have to rely more on biogas or geothermal energy.
IG Metall demanded better working conditions from craft companies so as not to endanger the climate goals of the federal government. “Two thirds of the young, well-trained employees in the trades migrate to other sectors,” explained board member Ralf Kutzner.
According to IG Metall, the electrical and plumbing, heating and air conditioning trades alone lose over 18,000 skilled workers in each training year, including to industry. A large retention and return campaign is crucial in order to be able to achieve the goal of 500,000 heat pumps per year.
DGB board member Stefan Körzell said: “There are enough well-trained specialists for a heat pump offensive. Only because of poor working conditions and pay they have turned their backs on the craft. We have to win back these specialists for the energy transition instead of turning laypeople into henchmen in crash courses lasting several weeks.”
The FDP politician Sandra Weeser, chairwoman of the building committee in the Bundestag, said: “Without additional craftsmen, the goal of installing 500,000 heat pumps per year remains a well-intentioned hope.”
