Supporting the roll-out of high-quality heat pump installations

Proposals should present the concrete results which will be delivered by the activities, and demonstrate how these results will contribute to the topic-specific impacts. This demonstration should include a detailed analysis of the starting point and a set of well-substantiated assumptions, and establish clear causality links between the results and the expected impacts.

For Scope A proposals should demonstrate how they will tackle the high-upfront costs of heat pumps in existing buildings through alternative business and delivery models. For Scope B the aim is to accelerate the deployment of industrial heat pump solutions in industrial sectors by developing standardised approaches.

Proposals under Scope A and B should quantify their results and impacts using the indicators provided for the topic, when they are relevant for the proposed activities. They should also propose indicators which are specific to the proposed activities. Proposals are not expected to address all the listed impacts and indicators. The results and impacts should be quantified for the end of the project and for 5 years after the end of the project.

The indicators for this topic include:

• Number of new installations of heat pumps triggered by the action (including commitments).
• Number of key actors along the value chains with improved skills/knowledge during the action.
• Number of new customers benefitting from alternative business and delivery models.
• Number of standardised solutions to implement heat pumps in industrial processes.
• Natural gas savings triggered by the project (in million cubic meters/year), where appropriate.

Proposals should also quantify their impacts related to the following common indicators for the LIFE Clean Energy Transition subprogramme:

• Primary energy savings triggered by the project in GWh/year.
• Final energy savings triggered by the project in GWh/year.
• Renewable energy generation triggered by the project (in GWh/year).
• Reduction of greenhouse gases emissions (in tCO₂-eq/year).
• Investments in sustainable energy (energy efficiency and renewable energy) triggered by the project (cumulative, in million Euro).

Heat pumps represent one of the key technologies to meet the 2030 EU energy and climate targets and towards the climate neutrality of heating and cooling by mid-century. As part of the REPowerEU^[1] Plan to phase out EU dependence on fossil fuels imports the European Commission has called for 10 million additional heat pumps installed within 5 years. While market growth of 2021 and 2022 alone – cumulatively amounting to slightly below 5 million new units – is already overshooting on this aspiration, it is becoming increasingly clear that the present market deployment alone will be insufficient to deliver a profound transformation of the heating sector in view of delivering in line with the Fit-for-55 target and beyond. Furthermore, through the Net-Zero Industry Act^[2] which is part of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, the European Commission is aiming at increasing the manufacturing capacity of strategic net-zero technologies to meet at least 40% of the EU’s annual deployment needs by 2030.

In this framework, the aim of this topic is to strengthen the enabling framework for the accelerated roll-out of high-quality heat pumps, complementing existing legislative and financial incentives at the EU, national and local levels. In particular, the topic aims to accelerate the deployment of heat pumps in existing buildings through alternative business and delivery models as well as in industrial sectors through a closer collaboration between different industrial sectors and industrial heat pump technology providers.

Proposals should address only one of the two scopes below. The scope addressed should be clearly specified in the proposal's introduction.

Scope A: Alternative business and delivery models

Proposals should stimulate large-scale demand for heat pumps in existing buildings, while significantly reducing or spreading over several years the initial costs for product acquisition and installation.

To that end, the proposed actions should develop, demonstrate, upscale and/or replicate alternative business and/or heat delivery models.

For the purpose of this topic, business and delivery models refer to the arrangements between the involved parties and their roles involving a defined set of relationships, responsibilities and rights, including arrangements about equipment ownership and payment.

Proposals should ensure that installations are of high quality, that the selected buildings are suitable and ready (e.g. in terms of thermal insulation, internal distribution systems) for a heat pump prior to any installation, and that building heating needs and heat pump size are properly evaluated. To that end, proposals may apply innovative methods/tools simplifying processes and assessments.

Proposals should demonstrate the effectiveness and replicability of the proposed approaches.

The focus of the proposed actions should be at least on space heating; however, this does not preclude considering additional functions such as water heating and space cooling. Actions may address any type of buildings, although multi‐apartment and commercial buildings are especially encouraged. Synergies of heat pumps with PV installations and/or hybrid renewable heating and cooling systems could also be promoted.

Heat pumps should be designed and installed by professionals with relevant qualifications and skills. All relevant stakeholders necessary for the successful implementation of the action should be involved; if not directly involved, their support should be demonstrated in the proposal.

In this context, proposals may put in place new or strengthen existing strategic partnerships between relevant stakeholders (e.g. industry, installers, local authorities, consumer associations, integrated home renovation services) and consider the objective of the European Commission’s Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age of strengthening, among others, the heat pump supply chain within the EU^[3].

The proposed actions are invited to build on experiences and lessons learned from other relevant projects and programmes^[4].

Scope B: Collaboration between industrial sectors and industrial heat pump technology providers

Proposals under this scope should promote a sustainable and efficient use of energy in at least one industrial sector by bridging the gap between users and providers of industrial heat pump solutions. Most notably, proposals should facilitate the collaboration between industrial sectors/sub-sectors sharing similar processes and energy related needs with heat pump manufacturers and providers. On the user side, specific industrial sectors could survey their sector’s processes to define an ‘average’ process and reassess its operational energy needs in a most cost-effective way through a closer exchange with technology suppliers in order to effectively design sustainable energy solutions. On the provider side, manufacturers and providers of industrial heat pumps could optimise and standardise their existing technological offer, products and solutions to meet the industrial sector needs.

This aligned cooperation for creating demand and ensuring supply would benefit certain industrial sectors progress in their path towards decarbonisation. The goal is to move from custom-built project by project approach for each specific industrial plant and process, to more streamlined, standardised, turn-key solutions for industrial sector(s) and/or processes with similar energy needs.

Proposals are expected to facilitate the establishment of concrete collaboration initiatives, proving optimisation and integration of industrial heat pump solutions in industrial processes. Activities should include not only the assessment and optimisation of technical aspects but also the creation and exchange of knowledge and expertise, including guidelines on how to deploy the solutions, and the development and validation of business models for the deployment of the specific solutions explored in the sector(s) addressed.

Proposals should ensure dissemination and replication of the proposed approaches for wide deployment, including advising and building capacity among the relevant actors and initiatives as well as identify and map possible synergies with relevant funding instruments at regional, national and European level that could help build, disseminate, and exploit knowledge and results.

Involvement of the relevant user sector(s) and of technology provider representatives is recommended for effective market acceptance and implementation.

Proposals should focus on existing technologies already available on the market. Activities aiming at technological and first deployment on the market, including for products at Technology Readiness Level 8, are not in the scope of this topic.

For both scopes, proposals must be submitted by at least 3 applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from 3 different eligible countries.

For Scopes A and B, the Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 1.75 million would allow the specific objectives to be addressed appropriately.

Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

[1] Communication from the Commission of 8.3.2022 to the European Parliament, the European Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, REPowerEU Plan, COM(2022) 230 final.

[2] Net Zero Industry Act - European Commission

[3] COM(2023) 62 final.

[4] This should include e.g. LIFE projects, the implementation of Air Quality Plans and the implementation of Operational Programmes under ESIF, H2020 projects, Intelligent Energy Europe projects, and other relevant national, local, or regional initiatives.