Germany will ban fossil fuel boilers from 2024

The German government has approved a draft law requiring new heating systems to use at least 65% renewable energy from 2024. In practice, only heat pumps, hybrid heat pumps with fossil fuel backup, district heating and biomass boilers meet this criterion.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Germany must start replacing heating systems in buildings and homes as soon as possible, as reported by Euractiv. He was responding to the fact that the country is lagging far behind in clean heating, for example compared with France, Denmark and Finland.

Germany is heavily dependent on fossil gas and other fossil fuels for heat production. Around 30 million households are heated using them. The measure is intended to reduce CO2 emissions while also benefiting residents through lower local air pollution.

The German government is therefore introducing a requirement that new heating systems from 2024 must use at least 65% renewable energy. This effectively disqualifies gas heaters. Heat pumps will be the main technology receiving support. The German government plans to install half a million heat pumps a year from 2024, compared with approximately 200,000 installed in 2022.