About the project

Background

Heat pumps as the key to a stable, green energy system

Heat pumps are a key clean alternative to fossil fuels. As renewable energy sources like wind and solar constitute a growing share of our energy supply, a critical challenge emerges: How do we ensure a stable and efficient energy system when production fluctuates? This challenge is significantly intensified by the simultaneous electrification of the heating sector – a sector that accounts for approximately half of the total energy consumption and thus places enormous demands on the future electricity grid.

This project addresses this very challenge by unlocking the vast potential for flexibility in large-scale and aggregated heat pump systems. Through Danish participation in the international collaboration IEA Heat Pumping Technologies (HPT) Annex 70, we are working to solidify the role of heat pumps as a crucial component in the decarbonised energy system of the future.

From challenge to opportunity

Flexibility is the ability of heat pumps to dynamically adjust their operation – including electricity consumption and heat production – in response to signals from the electricity grid and changes in heat demand. For instance, a flexible heat pump can increase production when there is a surplus of cheap wind power, storing the heat, or ramp down during periods of peak load on the grid. This contributes to:

• Grid stability: Balancing the electricity grid, supporting thermal networks, and enabling the integration of more renewable energy.
• Energy efficiency: Optimizing operation and maximizing the use of renewable energy.
• Decarbonization: Accelerating the green transition through intelligent sector coupling and supporting industrial processes.

The project builds on the findings of a previous annex – Annex 57: Flexibility by implementing heat pumps in multi-vector energy systems – and expands its scope to include large-scale and high-temperature heat pump systems, aggregated medium-scale units, and their interaction with energy storage technologies like thermal energy storage (TES) and batteries or electric vehicles.

Core tasks and activities

The work is organized into five complementary tasks to ensure a holistic approach:

• Technological innovation and system integration: Quantifying the flexibility potential of individual and aggregated heat pump systems. Addressing technical challenges such as ramp-up times and part-load inefficiencies, developing dynamic control strategies for demand response, and exploring aggregation methods, coordination strategies, and digital infrastructure.
• Analysis of regulatory frameworks and markets: Investigating barriers in current regulations and market mechanisms, engaging stakeholders, and contributing to future guidelines and standards that promote better market access for flexibility services.
• Development of sustainable business models: Creating concrete business cases that demonstrate the economic value of flexibility for both heat pump owners and the energy system, including analyzing impacts on power grids, district heating networks, and industrial processes.
• Dissemination, education, and stakeholder engagement: Developing educational materials, communication strategies, and practical guidelines to increase awareness, acceptance, and uptake of flexible heat pump solutions.
• International collaboration and knowledge sharing: Collaborating with international partners and actively disseminating project results through workshops, conferences, and scientific publications to ensure maximum knowledge exchange.

Participating countries

Denmark, Spain, Canada, Sweden