Heat Pump Accelerator Platform

Project overview

Heat pumps are increasingly recognised as a sustainable solution for heating and cooling systems, offering significant reductions in CO₂ emissions compared to traditional fossil fuels. In response to climate change, the European Union set a new climate target in 2021 as part of the European Green Deal, aiming to reduce net emissions by at least 55% by 2030. The REPowerEU plan, developed in the context of the Russian war on Ukraine, includes a key target: to double the use of heat pumps over the next five years, reducing reliance on fossil fuels. 

The European Commission’s Heat Pump Action Plan addresses the need for coordinated EU-wide efforts to meet the challenges of decarbonising energy systems. National actions alone are not sufficient to achieve these goals, highlighting the importance of a unified EU strategy. 

From September 2024 to August 2027, VITO/EnergyVille is working in partnership with the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) and Fraunhofer ISE to establish a self-sustaining Heat Pump Accelerator Platform. This platform already has more than 90 members, including national and regional authorities, energy agencies, research institutes, civil society organisations, installers and contractors, financial institutions, education and training providers, utility companies, regulators and network operators. 

The main objectives of the Platform are to: 

1. Coordinate the deployment of heat pumps in lign with more ambitious EU policies
2. Continuously monitor and evaluate the progress of the sector.
3. Define R&I&D priorities in the 27 EU Member States. 

Key outputs

The Platform’s first position paper “Cost reduction opportunities for heat pumps“ sets out concrete levers to improve affordability and accelerate deployment across Europe.

The paper highlights options such as:

• Shift taxation away from electricity and introduce a carbon price for heating fuels under ETS2.
• Use VAT to favour clean heating, differentiate VAT on electricity versus gas or heating oil, and reduce VAT on the supply and installation of heat pumps.
• Scale plug-and-play and modular solutions, and standardise installation layouts to reduce on-site work.
• Increase cost transparency through price lists, benchmarking tools and quotations linked to public support schemes.
• Reduce regulatory and administrative complexity, and speed up high-quality installer training and reskilling.

Download position paper
 

European Commission recognises Heat Pump Accelerator Platform in Electrification Action Plan

On 17 July 2026, the European Commission published its Electrification Action Plan, explicitly recognising the Heat Pump Accelerator Platform as one of the instruments to accelerate investment in clean heating. The Plan calls for the Platform to help de-risk and finance investments in heat pumps and connections to district heating and cooling systems. 

The Plan aims to increase the installation rate of heat pumps to around four million per year by 2030, compared with 2.4 million in 2025. To achieve this, the Plan highlights several enabling actions, including improving electricity-to-gas price ratios, recognising the role of heat pumps in both efficient heating and cooling, using VAT to support electrification, increasing cost transparency through national comparison tools and comparable heat pump quotations, and promoting innovative financing and business models. 

Several of these actions are closely aligned with recommendations developed through the Heat Pump Accelerator Platform, reflecting the close exchanges with its members.

The recognition underlines the relevance of linking research, stakeholder collaboration and policy support into concrete European action, and highlights VITO/EnergyVille’s contribution to the implementation of the energy transition.

Read the Electrification Action Plan
 

The broader Heat Pump Support Action

The Heat Pump Accelerator Platform is part of a broader Heat Pump Support Action that provides the evidence and analysis needed to support faster heat pump deployment across the EU. The Support Action focuses  on streamlining the deployment process through: 

• Regulatory support, ensuring that efficient heating solutions policies are in place to facilitate uptake.
• Financing and skills development, addressing financing needs and workforce expertise.
• Multi-level coordination, working across EU, national, regional and local levels to promote faster deployment. 

This will accelerate the uptake of sustainable heating solutions, including individual heat pumps and district heating networks powered by large heat pumps. Particular attention is paid to ensuring that these technologies are accessible to all households, especially those at risk of energy poverty. This initiative will stimulate the EU heat pump market, creating high quality jobs in the production and installation sector while contributing to economic growth.

VITO/EnergyVille's contribution

We coordinate the Support Action for Heat Pumps to ensure the highest quality standards for all project deliverables. With extensive experience in supporting European Commission initiatives, we  play a key role in organising the Heat Pump Accelerator Platform, providing secretarial support and guiding the initiative. 

Our specific contributions  include: 

• Task 1: Supporting the drafting of the Terms of Reference and the evaluation of the final list of participants for the Heat Pump Accelerator Platform. We also support the drafting of position papers such as "Cost reduction opportunities for heat pumps" and the organisation of platform meetings, focusing on the use of heat pump in commercial buildings and district heating/cooling networks.
• Task 2: Collecting and structuring policies and measures related to heat pump deployment across the EU and presenting this information in a user-friendly format.
• Task 3: Leading the mapping of R&I&D projects in five key heat pump areas. We focus on commercial buildings and district heating/cooling networks, while supporting Fraunhofer in the assessment of individual and multi-family buildings as well as industrial heat pumps.
• Task 4: Assessing technology gaps and regulatory trends in R&I&D projects to define needs in the five heat pump areas. We contribute to the development of an R&I&D roadmap to support EU initiatives such as the Strategic Energy Plan Implementation Working Groups on “Energy Efficiency in Buildings” and “Sustainable and Efficient Use of Energy in Industry”.
• Task 5: Developing a funding and self-sustainability plan to ensure the long-term impact of the platform, even after the end of the project.  

Partners

This project is carried out in collaboration with the following key partners: