Whether in industry or in private residential construction – anyone deciding today on a heating system or space heating of the future is faced with a lot of question marks. Which energy scenarios will actually determine the future? Which technologies will then become relevant? Is it still worth investing in fossil-fuelled systems? What does the traffic light say? And taking all these questions into account, what is the best heating solution for the hall building in the long term, both functionally and economically?

Hardly anyone still doubts that something has to happen to get man-made climate change under control. The ambitious goal set out in the amended Climate Protection Act is therefore: Germany wants to achieve climate neutrality not by 2050, but by 2045. This means that all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, from power generation and industry to buildings, transport and agriculture, are to be reduced as far as possible. Emissions that cannot be avoided are to be offset by greenhouse gas sinks. To achieve this, the Climate Protection Act sets a specific interim target for GHG emission reductions by 2030, namely by at least 65% compared to 1990. So the target is clear so far.

But how to get there? That raises a lot of questions and causes great uncertainty. Particularly among those who are to decide on investments that extend far into the future. One example of such investments is industrial space heating systems with a life cycle of 15 years or more.

Finally more clarity on the path to climate neutrality

On October 11, 2021, the report of the Copernicus project Ariadne1) was published, a study of more than 50 researchers from 10 institutes who illuminated and evaluated different transformation scenarios towards climate neutrality. This is the first comprehensive and detailed model comparison with robust insights on transformation pathways, scope and bottlenecks. The following key insights can be derived across all scenarios and models:

  1. the key energy sources in a carbon-neutral energy system are mainly renewable electricity, green hydrogen and green e-fuels, and sustainably produced biomass.
  2. an increasingly renewable electricity supply is the mainstay of further decarbonization of the energy system.
  3. increasing energy efficiency alone leads to a 34-59% decrease in final energy consumption by 2045 compared to 2019 in the target scenarios.

And it is also clear, according to the last point: the climate protection targets for 2030 and 2045 are extremely challenging and can only be achieved with massive investments, additional policy measures and infrastructure development in all sectors.

1) Source: Germany on the Road to Climate Neutrality 2045: Scenarios and Pathways in Model Comparison. https://ariadneprojekt.de/publikation/deutschland-auf-dem-weg-zur-klimaneutralitat-2045-szenarienreport/

Hall heating of the future – a summary of the most important points from the coalition agreement of the “Ampel” party

The coalition agreement signed by the “Ampel” coalition government under the title “Mehr Fortschritt wagen” (“Dare to make more progress”) has now been on the table for a short time. Despite a constructive spirit for the future, it still contains plenty of uncertainties, according to the DIHK in its first preliminary overall assessment.2) Nevertheless, greater clarity is now emerging as to how the path to climate neutrality can be shaped. The key statements in the coalition agreement are particularly relevant for investors in energy-intensive technologies such as hall heating systems. We have summarized them for you with reference to page and paragraph of the coalition agreement:

P. 27 – “Economy” chapter “Industry” keyword

  • We advocate the establishment of a European Union for Green Hydrogen.
  • To this end, we want to […] financially support investments in the development of a hydrogen network infrastructure.
  • In this way, we want to become the lead market for hydrogen technologies by 2030.
  • […] for an initiative to establish an international climate club open to all countries with a uniform minimum CO2 price and a common CO2 border adjustment.

P. 59f – Chapter “Climate, Energy, Transformation” Keyword: “Gas and Hydrogen”

  • An energy infrastructure for renewable electricity and hydrogen is a prerequisite for Europe’s ability to act and compete in the 21st century.
  • We are accelerating the massive expansion of renewables and the construction of modern gas-fired power plants to meet the growing demand for electricity and energy over the next few years at competitive prices.
  • The gas-fired power plants that will be needed until supply is secured by renewables must be built in such a way that they can be converted to climate-neutral gases (H2-ready).
  • Natural gas is indispensable for a transitional period.
  • We want to press ahead as quickly as possible with the development of an efficient hydrogen economy and the import and transport infrastructure required for this.

P. 60 – Chapter “Climate, energy, transformation” Keyword: “Grids”

  • Electricity and hydrogen networks are the backbone of the energy system of the future.

P. 90 – Chapter “Building and housing” Keyword: “Climate protection in the building sector”

  • [We] amend the Building Energy Act (GEG) as follows: By January 1, 2025, every newly installed heating system is to be based on 65 percent renewable energy.3)
  • In the GEG, new construction standards will be aligned with KfW-EH 40 by January 1, 2025.
  • In addition, measures equivalent to the GHG emission reduction target can be used under the innovation clause.
  • We rely on measures that are tailored to fit and open to technology […].
  • We will continue to develop and restructure the funding programs in line with the goals and needs.

In summary, this means: Green electricity and green gas (hydrogen) are the energy carriers on the way to climate neutrality. The importance of natural gas as a bridging technology is confirmed – the fossil energy source with the lowest carbon content will continue to be usable. And this is also emphasized: in addition to renewable energies, equivalent measures that follow the goal of GHG emission reduction, such as increasing energy efficiency, are recognized.

2) Traffic light coalition agreement in the federal government 2021. First, preliminary overall assessment © Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag e.V. (DIHK) | Berlin | Brussels, as of November 2021.
3) Decentrally heated halls (zones) with room heights > 4 m are exempt from the obligation to use renewable energies to cover heating and cooling energy requirements (GEG).

 

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Highly efficient and flexible: decentralized gas-fired hall heating systems flank the path to climate neutrality

These statements provide clarity that natural gas-powered decentralized infrared hall heaters will remain the golden standard in hall heating in the longer term. There are good reasons for this, as the heating systems, which have been specially developed for the physical conditions of hall buildings, are clearly superior to most technical alternatives in terms of energy efficiency and economy for room heights > 4 m. Due to their high energy efficiency and very low peripheral losses, infrared heating technologies type dark radiators such as those from KÜBLER realize energy savings of between 30 and 70 percent. They can already meet the requirements of the 2030 climate targets. Added to this are the relatively low investment costs. And by the way, the high-efficiency technologies from the Ludwigshafen-based hall heating specialist can already be operated with biogas4) today and are H2-ready. This means that as soon as hydrogen is available to you, you can mix it in with a reliable proportion of 20% by volume (and increasingly more) without any problems.
The flexibility of dark radiator type hall heaters is another convincing feature when it comes to heating production, storage and other hall buildings. The decentralized gas-powered solutions have extremely short heat-up or shutdown times compared with hot-water-based technologies. This means that your hall heating system can respond immediately to additional shift operations or even to changes in the outside temperature – so you don’t have to heat up after yesterday’s weather. Because the units only require a small amount of space under the ceiling, there is plenty of room for use. And unlike underfloor heating systems, your hall floor also gives you full flexibility, e.g. for changes in machine set-up.

4) Prepared to natural gas quality

What will the space heating of the future look like?
The energy sources of the future are called renewable electricity and green hydrogen. What does this mean for the technology issue? KÜBLER, the innovation leader for energy-saving hall heating systems, essentially sees these options here. First: The hall heating of the future will continue to be based on natural gas or liquid gas in the long term due to its high efficiency. Second: An increasing proportion of green gases will be added to the fossil gases – until the technical challenges of producing and distributing hydrogen are solved and the systems run on 100 % hydrogen. Exactly when this will be remains open at present.