Stiftung Klimaneutralität
2022
The “Climate-neutral Germany 2045” scenario (KNDE2045) shows a possible path to achieving climate neutrality by 2045. The main results are a significantly higher power consumption (+70 percent) due to the increasing use of electricity, including for heating and transport, and a significantly higher peak generation (+300 percent), due to the significant expansion of renewable electricity generation. In 2045, 14 million heat pumps in Germany will be part of the solution for the building sector. For the Climate Neutrality Foundation, our energy system simulation team classifies the role of the heat pump as opposed to hydrogen heating in decentralised heat generation based on the KNDE2045 scenario. The analysis focuses on the following two aspects:
The study highlights the central role of heat pumps as part of these flexible consumers in a renewable electricity system. Heat pumps offer two main advantages: firstly, they generate the majority of their heating energy from environmental heat. Secondly, with the thermal storage mass from buildings and heating circuit buffer storage, they will offer flexibility in power demand. "This allows more renewable electricity to be used, and less electricity to be curtailed", explains Hans Dambeck, project manager of the study.
In the analysis, a sensitivity of scenario KNDE2045 was modelled, in which the number of electric heat pumps was reduced from 14 to 13 million and the electricity requirement is thus reduced by nine percent. The results of the hourly modelling in the Prognos electricity market model compared with the base scenario KNDE2045 were used to draw conclusions about the influence of the heat pumps. "The reduced power consumption only leads to a lesser extent to a reduction in electricity generation from controllable hydrogen power plants. The other part is due to a higher curtailment of the RES-electricity and a reduced import balance. The required guaranteed performance hardly drops, by only 0.2 GW”, describes Aurel Wünsch, analyst of the electricity market modelling. The use of 1 million hydrogen heaters, on the other hand, leads to a hydrogen requirement around twice as high as the need to protect 1 million heat pumps with hydrogen power plants in the power system. As a result, hydrogen is used much more efficiently for dispatchable powerplantsbalancing a renewable power system with heat pumps than in decentralised heating systems. Heat pumps can significantly increase flexibility for the integration of the RES-electricity and the use of environmental heat. For these reasons, they are a central building block for a climate-neutral Germany.
To the study (PDF, in German)
To the policy paper (PDF, in German)
More information (website Stiftung Klimaneutralität)
The “Climate-neutral Germany 2045” scenario
Hans Dambeck, Aurel Wünsch, Marco Wünsch, Miriam Lovis
Project Manager
Expert
Principal
For the Council of Experts on Climate Change we conducted an expert appraisal to review the Federal Environment Agency’s greenhouse gas projection data.
Energy consumption for industry, buildings and transport has remained relatively stable for the last 20 years. A study for the German Industry Initiative for Energy Efficiency (DENEFF) shows how policy can use efficiency measures to counteract this stagnation.
For over 15 years now Prognos has been bringing together the actors concerned by the expansion of the electricity grid and facilitating dialogue between them – from the Danish to the Swiss bor-der.
The energy transition is still lagging behind its goals – such are the findings of our 12th Monitoring Report. In two of the four areas, the lights remain on red.
What is the status of the energy transition in Germany? Since 2012, Prognos has been monitoring the energy transition in Bavaria and Germany on behalf of the vbw.
In the coming years new renewable power plants will have to be built – but also flexible gas power plants, which can be used when required. We examined various incentive instruments on behalf of the vbw.
How has the role of gas changed as a result of the gas crisis? Our energy team explored this question on behalf of the KfW.
The extension of the energy network lays the foundation for the energy transition. Since 2019, Prognos has been supporting transmission system operator TenneT TSO GmbH with their project communication concerning the establishment of the new West Coast transmission line in Schleswig-Holstein.
Our study for the vbw compares electricity and gas prices for industry worldwide and provides a price development outlook up to the year 2030.
Crises continue to put global trade routes at risk. This study by Prognos and partners indicates the measures necessary to secure strategically important supply chains.
Prognos is one of the oldest economic research centres in Europe. Founded at the University of Basel, Prognos experts have been conducting research for a wide range of clients from the public and private sectors since 1959 – politically independent, scientifically sound.