Supporting industrial heat pumps is essential for cutting emissions in energy-intensive industries, helping achieve decarbonisation targets. They also reduce reliance on fossil fuels, strengthening Europe’s energy security and independence.
Industrial heat pumps use renewable energy from air, water, sewage and ground, exhaust air from buildings (hospitals, hotels, offices) or waste heat from processes and infrastructure.
They reach temperatures of up to 180-200°C, replacing oil and gas! They are already being used in industries like paper and pulp, wood, dairy, fruits, vegetables, paint, food, textiles.
Boosting them further is essential: more than 60% of industry’s energy use goes on heat, but industrial heat pumps could provide around 39% of process heat needs if fully rolled out!
The European Heat Pump Association supports the widespread roll-out of industrial heat pumps.
The European Commission published its Clean Industrial Deal on 26 February 2025. This takes forward the goals of the EU Green Deal, focusing on making European clean tech as competitive as possible on the path to climate neutrality in 2050.
In early 2026, the EU Commission is due to release an Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act to drive European industries toward climate neutrality.
For EHPA, industrial heat pumps must be front and centre of relevant EU actions.
Read our heat pump stories, which feature many such case studies.
Read our latest report on the subsidies available for industrial heat pumps in each European country.
Discover our partnership with the paper and pulp industry body Cepi, and the report we produced together. Read about how we showed the potential of industrial heat pumps at the Anuga Foodtec conference in 2024.
Have questions on a specific file or position? Click here to find the right policy colleague to assist you. For general inquiries, email policy@ehpa.org.
EHPA’s work on industrial heat pumps is further supported by the EU-funded projects:
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