As industries strive to decarbonise, they must adopt a range of measures that provide long-lasting, energy efficient solutions to reduce overall energy demand. Making better use of currently under-utilised resources is key to an effective long-term decarbonisation strategy. Waste heat recovery is one such solution, with excess heat in the EU estimated at 245 Mtoe per year (David Connolly, 2013). This equals the EU’s total energy demand for heat and hot water in residential and service sector buildings. Waste heat remains an untapped resource that industries across Europe can use. Waste heat recovery can meet industrial needs and reduce energy demand.
Supportive policies in Europe are needed to make the most of the opportunity offered by waste heat. For the right technologies to be in place, there must first be enabling policy frameworks. These should encourage and support the uptake of new and innovative solutions.
The RE-WITCH project is demonstrating innovative, efficient, thermally-driven cooling and heating technologies for industry. As RE-WITCH advances its novel adsorption and absorption chiller systems, the project will also develop policy recommendations for effective market deployment. This brief evaluates the current European policy framework that impacts heating and cooling technologies.
The brief gives an overview of waste heat and cooling technologies in two key pieces of EU legislation: The Renewable Energy Directive RED III ((EU) 2023/2413) and The Energy Efficiency Directive (EED III) ((EU) 2023/1791). These EU directives are required to be translated into national policies. RED III and EED III require the integration of waste heat into the national decarbonisation strategies of Member States and the assessment of potential applications of waste heat.
