All-renewable future for Europe

Reaching a 100 % renewable heating and cooling target across Europe by 2050 will only be possible if there is strong and resolute political support to accelerate the market adoption of RHC technologies. This is one of the key messages of the 2050 Vision, which was presented at a one-day conference on 28 October in Finland’s capital Helsinki. The event had been organised by the Renewable Heating and Cooling European Technology and Innovation Platform (RHC-ETIP), a network that was set up in 2009 and consists of over 800 experts from industry and academia. Among the speakers and panellists who attended the conference were representatives for the European Commission and government officials from Finland, since the country currently holds the EU Presidency. All conference presentations can be downloaded at https://www.rhc-platform.org/100rhc-event/
Photo: RHC-ETIP

The 2050 Vision is 40 pages long and was jointly developed by ETIP’s members. It shows the high degree of maturity of RHC solutions and their key role in a variety of areas, from building single-family homes to retrofitting manufacturing facilities (see the attached PDF). The aim is to provide a clear path to a 100 % renewable heating and cooling sector in Europe by 2050. To meet this aim, the authors of the document recommend the following:

• Enact laws to phase out fossil fuel heating systems
• Promote the use of smart energy systems with automated controls and artificial intelligence
• Further integrate this sector with the electricity market to even out supply and demand
• Drastically reduce waste energy by reusing excess heat and organic waste
• Build (large and small) daily and seasonal energy storage units for heating and cooling
• Use real-time data to implement reliable and secure smart energy management
• Enable innovative business models and financial investment to support RHC technology
• Actively involve citizens and businesses in making the sector more sustainable