Annex 57 Webinar Unveils Revolutionary Insights on Heat Pump Flexibility
On Monday, May 6, the HPT TCP Annex 57, titled “Flexibility by implementation of heat pump in multi-vector energy systems and thermal networks,” captivated audiences during an illuminating webinar session. The event showcased the culmination of groundbreaking research conducted by leading experts from Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, and Sweden, shedding light on the transformative potential of heat pumps in integrated energy systems and thermal networks.
Drawing on 22 comprehensive case studies, the Annex 57 team demonstrated how heat pumps can revolutionize energy landscapes, from individual homes to large-scale district heating projects. Their findings, built upon the success of Annex 47 Heat Pumps in District Heating and Cooling Systems, underscored the remarkable efficiency gains achievable through the integration of large-scale heat pumps.
Key highlights from the webinar included:
- The market is growing in general: heat pumps are well operated within the energy trading markets of day-ahead and intraday. As large-scale thermal power plants are phasing out, the market for flexibility services is diversified and growing.
- The market for heat pumps in district energy systems in Europe is also growing: certain scenarios show that heat pumps have the potential to cover from 16 % to 38 % of the annual production in most of the markets.
- Heat pumps can act in the ancillary service market, especially if they are combined with electrical boilers and weekly storage. However, this is a new way to control heat pumps, and there are still barriers to overcome.
The webinar agenda featured a diverse array of topics, including insights into current energy market trends, the development of heat pump technology, best practice examples of heat pump flexibility, and discussions on policy and communication protocols.
For those unable to attend the webinar recording, and presentation materials are now available for viewing. Additionally, all information pertaining to Annex 57 can be accessed via the homepage.
The full agenda for the webinar is given below.
- Introduction of the IEA HPT TCP – Caroline Haglund Stignor (RISE/HPC) (Link to Presentation)
- Presentation of Annex 57 participants, project frame and Tasks, and main results. – OA (Svend Pedersen) /DTI (Link to Presentation)
- The Energy market now and 2030-2050 trends (Task 1) – Svend Pedersen/DTI (Link to Presentation)
- Development in the Heat pump market (Aalborg simulations) Future of DH and HP Trends (Task 1) – Svend Pedersen (Aalborg University) (Link to Presentation)
- Presentation of flexibility: what does it mean? How can heat pumps create flexibility in large-scale heat pumps (Task 3-4) – Wiebke Meesenburg (DTU) (Link to Presentation)
- Best practice examples of flexibility created with heat pumps (Task 2) – Dietrich Schmidt/Axel Oliva (Fraunhofer) (Link to Presentation)
- Flexibility created by small-scale heat pumps. Policy / Communication protocols. – Markus Lindahl (RISE)/ Marion Bakker (RVO) (Link to Presentation)
- Existing and future business models and barriers (Task 5) – Philipp Ortmann (AIT) (Link to Presentation)
The Annex 57 webinar provided a glimpse into the future of energy flexibility and reinforced the pivotal role of heat pumps in shaping sustainable and resilient energy systems.
Link to webinar recording: Webinar Recording