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Status: 04/21/2023 10:29 am
The end of gas and oil heating is heralded. Heat pump manufacturers are currently investing billions, and production is running at full speed. Where is the money going? An overview.
This has been debated for a long time, and now it has been decided: from 2024, newly installed heating systems – with a few exceptions – must be operated with 65 percent renewable energies. One of the most sought-after alternatives to oil and gas heating is the more climate-friendly heat pump. The ambitious goal of the Federal Ministry of Economics is to install six million heat pumps in Germany by 2030. The focus is therefore on the manufacturers who have to meet the need and the high demand.
The boom has already started
And the market is booming: in the past year alone, sales of heat pumps in Germany increased by a full 53 percent – 236,000 more systems were sold than in 2021. This was announced by the Federal Heat Pump Association in January. This means that the growth in this country is also greater than in the European comparison, where 37 percent more heat pumps were sold last year.
In Germany itself there are a large number of small and large heat pump manufacturers. The market, which is becoming increasingly consolidated, is currently still segmented. The most famous and largest include the Bosch Home Comfort Group (formerly Bosch Thermotechnik), Vaillant and Viessmann as well as Stiebel Eltron. In addition to many small and medium-sized suppliers, a large number of foreign manufacturers also produce the heat pumps that are in demand.
Bosch Home Comfort Group
Since April 1 of this year, the former Bosch Thermotechnik has been trading as the Bosch Home Comfort Group. The subsidiary of the Swabian supplier giant Bosch emerged from takeovers of other heating manufacturers such as Buderus and Junkers. All activities in the field of heating technology and hot water solutions are bundled in the Bosch Home Comfort Group.
The Bosch subsidiary is one of the largest heating manufacturers in Europe. Last year, the company with around 14,400 employees worldwide generated sales of 4.5 billion euros – a record year. The market for heat pumps in particular is booming, which has grown internationally by 54 percent. Interest is much higher in Germany, where business increased by 75 percent.
In order to meet the growing demand, the Bosch subsidiary is investing billions. Just yesterday, the company announced that it would invest more than one billion euros in the development and production of heat pumps by 2030. Around a quarter of the amount will be used to set up a heat pump factory in Dobromierz, Poland, where production is scheduled to start between late 2025 and early 2026.
Another new plant in Eibelshausen in central Hesse only started work at the beginning of this year. The foundation stone for another heat pump factory was laid in Israel in February. And also at the second German location in Wernau as well as in Aveiro in Portugal, capacities are being further expanded.
Viessman
The heating engineer Viessmann from northern Hesse is managed by the fourth generation. The family business has been around for more than 105 years. With a similar number of employees as the Bosch Comfort Group, Viessmann also achieved record sales of four billion euros last year – an increase of 19 percent compared to the previous year. A major driver of growth was the business segment related to heat pumps.
Just over a year ago, the company announced that it would invest one billion euros in heat pumps and green air conditioning solutions. Within three years, the money is to be invested, among other things, in the expansion of production capacities and research and development.
Heat pump components are currently being produced at various locations. Last year, the foundation stone was laid for a heat pump factory in Legnica, Poland, which was also attended by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. A total of 200 million euros from the announced billion-euro investment will flow into the location.
Vaillant Group
The history of the Remscheid-based heating manufacturer Vaillant goes back to the 19th century. At that time, the company started as a craft business, today the family-owned company is active in the areas of heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology and photovoltaic systems.
In 2021, the company had a total turnover of 3.3 billion euros, around a fifth more than in the previous year. Growth was much stronger in the heat pump sector, which increased by half over the same period. Since 2016, the company has invested one billion euros in the expansion of the heat pump business and is planning further investments of this magnitude.
Last month, the Vaillant Group put its – in its own words – “megafactory” for electric heat pumps into operation in Senica, Slovakia, which covers 100,000 square meters. From May, only heat pumps will be manufactured there with an annual capacity of 300,000. In addition to Slovakia and Germany, Vaillant also has production facilities in France and Great Britain. According to the company, all locations together are able to produce more than 500,000 heat pumps per year.
Stiebel Eltron
The heat pump manufacturer Stiebel Eltron from Holzminden in Lower Saxony produced 80,000 heat pumps last year – a strong increase of 60 percent compared to the previous year. Theodor Stiebel founded the company in 1924 with the invention of the ring immersion heater. Today the company builds a large number of heat pumps. According to the company, they want to produce well over 110,000 heat pumps this year tagesschau.de. Although Germany is the largest market for the company, more than half of the products are sold abroad.
The majority of Stiebel Eltron’s production is located around the main site in Holzminden, where almost 3,000 employees work. 500 new employees were hired last year, but there are still up to 400 vacancies. It’s bursting at the seams, says spokesman Henning Schulz tagesschau.de. It needs department stores, logistics, materials and staff.
The company is investing a large sum in the necessary expansion: the group intends to invest 670 million euros by 2027, around two-thirds of it in the Holzminden site alone. The high demand cannot be met at the moment, says Schulz. But at some point there will certainly be a little calming down on the market. However, a lot will still happen when the system is changed from gas heating to a heat pump.
foreign competition
The foreign manufacturers of heat pumps have also invested heavily in the expansion of production capacities in recent months. With Daikin Industries, one of the largest heat pump manufacturers comes from Japan. The Osaka-based company has announced that it will invest 840 million euros in existing European production facilities by 2025. 300 million euros will flow into the construction of a factory in Lodz, Poland, which is scheduled to start operations next year.