Lobby fight: How much poison does the heat pump need?

The heat pump is considered an important lever against climate change and dependence on gas imports. But poison slumbers in many devices – for some, a necessary evil.

At some point, Carola Laschen knew what was to come after the 30-year-old gas heating system: a heat pump in the garden in front of the house. Laschen speaks of two reasons for her decision: “You also think a bit about the environment – and about gas prices. And the heat pump was actually a very good alternative.”

John Edelhoff

Like the Laschen family from Schleswig-Holstein, more and more Germans have been making decisions for a few years: the number of heat pumps installed has risen sharply. A total of around 1.4 million heat pumps have been set up. And from 2024, 500,000 new ones are to be added each year – at least that is the goal of industry and the federal government.

Century poison as a refrigerant

With its heat pump offensive, politicians are challenging two opponents at once: climate change and Vladimir Putin, on whose natural gas we have long been dependent. To achieve this, politics and business are pulling together. The heat pump should be a success. But there is a big but, like now a research by NDR, WDR and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ) shows. The reason for this is a dispute about the so-called refrigerant, the heart of every pump.

The refrigerant is crucial to the effectiveness of a heat pump. It flows in a circuit, absorbs heat from the outside, is then compressed – and thereby heated. The heat gained is then passed on to the heating system of the house. When it finally cools down, the cycle starts all over again.

But there is a problem: in most cases, the refrigerant today contains artificial gases from the group of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS). These F-gases are considered to be so toxic and persistent that they are to be largely banned in Europe in just a few years.

The risk with heat pumps: Even if the refrigerant in heat pumps is actually in a closed circuit – it can always escape, especially during disposal. The poison should also get out of the pumps. But there is resistance to this, and with questionable arguments. Dozens of internal documents exchanged between government and industry show: It’s a lesson in lobbying.

Lobbyists advocate exception rules

A letter from the heat pump association BWP from 2021 to the Ministry of the Environment is an example of this. According to the association, parts of the heating industry, energy suppliers and more than 500 other members such as craftsmen are represented. All major German manufacturers are also there. In the document to the Ministry of the Environment, the association initially made the maximum demand: they wanted a complete exception. “F-gases should be excluded from the PFAS restriction proposal,” says the letter, which was made available under the Freedom of Information Act (IFG).

The lobby’s argument: the climate goals cannot be achieved without F-gases. The message was clear: climate protection and refrigerants in poison – both together do not work. But is that true? In any case, the addressees were not convinced by the lobby paper. “The representation is partly so generalized that false facts are suggested,” wrote an employee of the Federal Environment Agency in an email. The lobby’s first attempt failed.

Alternatives today

The fact is that almost all major pump manufacturers now offer pumps with natural refrigerants. Propane is particularly popular – the gas that is familiar from the gas grill in the garden. It is environmentally friendly and available in almost unlimited quantities. But if there is an alternative, why is the heat pump association so committed to PFAS refrigerants?

Martin Sabel is Managing Director of the BWP. He says propane is not an equivalent alternative. He also defended his position in the interview. Sabel speaks of a safety risk with propane. As a refrigerant, it poses “certain safety challenges because it is simply highly flammable”. If propane escapes, “explosive mixtures” can occur. The Federation of German Industries (BDI) also points out a risk of explosion in a position paper.

Fire hazard manageable

That’s true and nobody denies: propane can ignite relatively easily. But is the danger really so great that propane is too dangerous as a refrigerant? Clemens Dankwerth researches propane heat pumps in Freiburg. The project manager and his team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) have just set an efficiency record. His new pump holds no more propane than a camp stove.

Is propane as a safe and efficient refrigerant just a dream of the future? Not at all, says Dankwerth: “In the last two or three years, a number of heat pumps have come onto the market that are installed outside and use propane as a refrigerant,” says Dankwerth. “And in the future, in the next two or three years, it will also be possible to use propane heat pumps that are installed inside houses.”

The researcher’s message is clear: Today, almost every single and two-family house can be heated with heat pumps that are operated with propane coolant – and that virtually without risk. Because in a house with a garden, a heat pump with the appropriate heat output can almost always be set up outdoors without any problems.

Manufacturers cite a lack of capacity

There are hardly any restrictions due to safety regulations in such cases. This potential market is huge: there are more than 15 million single and two-family houses in Germany – but so far only 1.4 million heat pumps. So there is a clean alternative to PFAS in propane, and there are millions of potential customers too. Nothing actually stands in the way of the market ramp-up.

But BWP Managing Director Sabel is slowing down again: “We have to talk about the technical feasibility and we have to talk about the manufacturing capacities,” says Sabel. 500,000 new heat pumps per year are ambitious. When asked whether manufacturers might have slept in the past few years, he dismisses: “They haven’t slept, they have other priorities.”

Industry giant disagrees

At an industry meeting at the end of 2022, the association’s managing director formally repeated his demand for sufficiently long transition periods for PFAS. But an industry representative of all people then vented his displeasure – and contradicted Sabel: “The heat pump ramp-up is in no way endangered by the switch to natural refrigerants – in no way!” said the representative from Viessmann. There is a video of it on the internet.

In the mass market for small and medium-sized houses, one could “completely switch to natural refrigerants in a very short time”. In a market that is clearly geared towards ecology, “we don’t have to wait for the very last!” So it was clear: a ditch runs through the industry itself.

No compromise in sight

How the dispute will end is uncertain. A first proposal by the authorities provides for very short transition periods for the PFAS in heat pumps. Consultations on the ban procedure will soon begin. What will the EU Commission and the member states decide in the end? That is still unclear. The only thing that is clear is that the lobby battle continues. When asked about this, the Ministry of Economic Affairs replied quite generally that they were “striving to switch to the use of natural refrigerants”. For this one is “currently in political talks”.

Berlin, autumn 2022. The heat pump association has invited to the industry get-together in the capital. Habeck’s most important official for the topic is on the stage. Secretary of State Patrick Graichen is asked for his opinion: What’s next for artificial refrigerants? Will there be sufficient transition periods? What Graichen promises: “The issue has been recognized by us.” You will be active accordingly in Brussels. A good solution will be found – “in a trusting dialogue with the industry”.