In 2025, more heat pumps (299,000) were sold in Germany than gas heating systems (276,000) for the first time. The market is gaining momentum; despite all the discussions surrounding the Building Energy Act in Germany, the technology is gaining traction. Heating manufacturers are now relying on heat pumps as the standard technology for decentralized heating.
Industrial heat pumps are creating a new, important market. European programs such as “Fit for 55”, European and national incentive mechanisms, and the gradual tightening of CO₂ pricing are supporting this development, and decarbonization is increasingly bringing industrial processes into focus.
“While the energy transition has long focused on electricity generation, the spotlight is now shifting to industrial process heat – one of the largest, yet previously underestimated, CO₂ levers in industry,” says Josef Grassauer, one of the speakers at the Heat Pump Summit. His company, GIG Karasek, is currently implementing one of the most ambitious projects for the decarbonization of industrial process heat in Europe at the Ludwigshafen site of BASF, the world’s largest chemical company.
CO2-neutral: Waste heat is converted into steam
The high-performance heat pump solution CompriVAP uses electrical energy to convert previously unused industrial waste heat into high-quality process steam. When electricity from renewable sources is used, this enables virtually CO2-free steam generation. This approach enables a highly circular energy cycle that significantly reduces the need for fossil fuels and even partially replaces them.
With a thermal capacity of 50 MW, the plant generates up to 500,000 tons of steam per year and can save around 100,000 tons of CO2 annually. Commissioning is scheduled for 2027.
“The project enables a significant reduction in primary energy consumption at BASF and simultaneously serves as an internationally scalable reference model for the industrial transition toward climate-friendly process heat.”
