News from the Energy Efficiency Sector

Aurubis AG and Wärme Hamburg GmbH have signed a long-term heat supply contract to expand the country’s largest industrial heat supply system. The deal will see around 20,000 Hamburg households supplied with carbon-neutral industrial heat from Aurubis’ copper production from 2024-25 onward. The deal will see up to 100,000 metric tons of CO2 emission reductions annually in the northern city from 2025 as fossil fuels are replaced. The technology has already been successfully deployed at the Aurubis plant to supply heat in other projects since 2018.  Aurubis AG and Wärme Hamburg GmbH have joined forces with the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection to develop an optimal model for implementation which will see subsidies paid to both partners.

A municipal housing association in Bavaria is carrying out Germany’s largest Energiesprong (“energy leap”) project to date as part of a serial refurbishment of around 6,000 residential housing units. The climatesprong principles see heating, hot water and electricity energy generated according to net-zero energy standards that also reduce the service charge burden on tenants. The project, supported by the German Energy Agency (dena), will see the serial refurbishment of housing stock using serial prefabrication of façade and roof elements supplemented by full-surface solar systems and plant technology. The landmark project will receive around EUR 400 million in federal government and federal state funding as well as equity substitute funds from the European Investment Bank. According to dena, net-zero standard projects of this type represent a major market opportunity for construction companies and manufacturers that develop scalable, serial housing solutions.

Germany’s home and building sector has recorded significant growth in 2021, building on continuous revenue increases since 2018.  The domestic home and building sector recorded significant growth in 2021 according to the results of a report commissioned by the Federation of German Heating Industry (BDH), the German Sanitary Industry (VDS) and the Building and Energy Trade Association (VdZ). Turnover in 2021 was up 5.7 percent to EUR 64.4 billion, with industry voices forecasting EUR 70 billion turnover for the year ahead. The heating sector accounted for the lion’s share of revenue at EUR 39.5 billion, followed by the plumbing sector with EUR 24.9 billion in annual turnover. The continued strong growth in the market has its roots in a number of developments including private residential renovation measures driven by the country’s 2020 climate package as well as international measures to protect the climate. According to the report authors, the year ahead will be defined by changes in housing demand and non-residential building land as a result of the new conditions – including home working and an upturn in purchasing of single-family homes further away from the workplace – created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Single, two- and multi-family house building is also expected to grow, with the building services sector benefiting from residential construction developments.

 Uniper and BP have signed an agreement to provide the former company's customers with industrial waste heat from BP's refinery facilities in Gelsenkirchen (North Rhine-Westphalia).  According to the two companies, the EUR 40 million agreement provides for the construction and operation of a plant capable of extracting up to 49 MW of waste heat. Uniper's integrated heating network supplies the cities of Gladbeck, Gelsenkirchen, Recklinghausen, Herne, and Datteln. The decoupled waste heat could be supplied to around 30,000 households in the northern Ruhr region. The project has also received funding from the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action in the small double-digit million euro range. Regular operation is planned for 2024 as part of plans to reduce Uniper CO2 emission levels by up to 60,000 tons annually.