The six implications of the EU’s “Fit for 55” package for your Heating Network

On 14 July, the European Commission published the long-awaited Fit for 55 Package, which targets achieving the EU’s 2030 goal of cutting emissions by 55% and reaching climate neutrality by 2050. Although it is still unclear how this will translate into national regulations and implementations given the negotiations and legislative process that are still to take place, heating networks should prepare for a changing regulatory landscape that will impact every District Heating (DH) company significantly.

Overall, the package provides opportunities for the DH sector and underlines the role of DH networks in the decarbonization of the EU’s heating market. It also echoes the supportive tone in the European Commission’s recent publications regarding the growth and the importance of DH networks in enabling decarbonization on the way to Net-Zero 2050 targets.

Overall, the package provides an urgent call to act for the DH industry to decarbonize and accelerate the move away from fossil-fuel based heat supply systems and increase renewable heat sources (including access heat from industry and data centers) in the DH networks.