EPBD political agreement vote: a major milestone towards the decarbonisation of EU buildings with a clear role for renewable gases and hybrid heating technologies

This Tuesday, the European Parliament endorsed the trilogue agreement on the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). This marks a major milestone towards the decarbonisation of the European building stock.

GD4S welcomes this revised legislation, which endorses the “fabric first” principle which prioritizes improving the thermal performance of building envelope before investing in the technical system to avoid overengineering costs, creates a solid framework for ensuring a progressive transition away from fossil fuel-based heating systems, while leaving no consumers without a reliable and affordable heating solution.

As decarbonisation of heating cannot solely be achieved with electrification and district heating, the text opens the way for additional complementary solutions, including hybrid heat pumps and boilers running on renewable gases.

Biomethane, easy to store and locally produced from biowaste, is particularly suited to the heating sector. Biomethane production is increasing quickly and has the potential to satisfy the sector’s future heating needs. The use of renewable gas in the heating sector will create additional demand, reduce production costs, and reinforce citizens’ support for the transition.

Hybrid solutions, such as hybrid heat pumps or micro- cogeneration, provide buildings with the demand side capacity to optimise the whole energy system and generate savings for their owners. They rely on the flexibility and resilience of the gas distribution grids, which are capable of coping with large demand peaks, especially in extreme demand situations. This flexibility can be used to optimise both renewable energy integration and energy system efficiency.

GD4S is pleased to see the recognition on the EPBD that all types of renewable energies, including renewable gases such as biomethane & hydrogen, will be needed to accelerate the decarbonisation of the hard-to-abate building sector. We stand ready to contribute to its implementation. Raúl Suárez, President of GD4S