EU plans will boost heat pump sales
22nd April 2026
EUROPE: Boosting heat pump sales to four million per year by 2030 and tackling electricity to gas price ratios are two of the goals of Europe’an’s AccelerateEU energy plan.
AccelerateEU is the European Commission’s toolbox of measures to shield European consumers from high energy prices caused by the fossil fuel crisis. A key area of focus is electrification, identified as crucial for the economy, competitiveness and security.
Accelerating electrification in the heating and cooling sector means reducing VAT on heat pumps and encouraging waste heat recovery from industry, the plan says.
It announces a legislative proposal to address electricity taxes and power network charges, stressing that in many countries electricity tax is several times higher than that on fossil fuels, slowing electrification.
“The European Commission’s plan gets it spot on,” commented European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) director general Paul Kenny. “It sets a clear direction towards electrification and pinpoints how to step up the switch to heat pumps in buildings, districts and industry.”
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said: “Our AccelerateEU strategy will bring both immediate and more structural relief measures to European citizens and businesses. We must accelerate the shift to homegrown, clean energies. This will give us energy independence and security, and mean we are better able to weather geopolitical storms.”
According to the EHPA, other important points in the plan include supporting social leasing for heat pumps – which is where less well-off households can rent one – and scaling up financial support for heat pumps in buildings and industry.
The EHPA has called on the European Commission to include binding targets and clearer numbers on electricity to gas price ratio reduction, heat pump targets per type of use, and waste heat recovery use in the upcoming Electrification Action Plan.
