How will we heat in the future?

In order to be able to provide heat in a climate-neutral manner, a large proportion of existing heating systems in Germany will have to be replaced with appropriate alternative heating systems, such as heat pumps and district heating connections. The choice between solar thermal, biomass, fuel cells, or hydrogen-fueled boilers depends on various factors. Some of these heat sources can provide heat particularly efficiently at low temperatures in heating systems, which is why in some cases, a coupling of different heat sources can make technical, ecological, and economic sense. For regionalized prioritization of heat sources, a structured comparison of them via different analysis methods is suitable.

Specifically, we look at the following questions:

• Which technologies will cover the heat demand in Germany in the future?
• Which GHG abatement measures are most (cost-)effective?
• How can heat applications at high-temperature levels be converted to renewable energies?
• What role can heat pumps, solar thermal, biomass, and geothermal play?
• What role can synthetic fuels play in heat?
• How can waste heat be integrated into the heat supply?