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The European Heat Pump Association is urging the EU to make heat pumps a priority in Horizon Europe, its proposed €175bn research and innovation programme for 2028–2034. EHPA wants a dedicated European Partnership to support a shared, long-term research agenda; the programme is still under negotiation, and inclusion has not been confirmed.
The European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) is calling for heat pumps to receive a dedicated European Partnership and priority status in the EU’s proposed €175bn Horizon Europe programme for 2028–2034. The request would place the technology within the next EU research and innovation funding cycle, but the programme is still subject to negotiations and the association’s proposal has not been accepted.
EHPA wants heat pumps named as a thematic priority and covered through an EU European Partnership, a funding instrument in which the EU, industry, research organisations and national funders agree on a shared research agenda and contribute funding over several years. The association says this arrangement could provide the sector with long-term, predictable support for research and development.
The areas EHPA identifies include improving efficiency, developing new refrigerants and reducing costs, as well as integrating heat pumps with energy grids and advancing high-temperature applications in industry. It proposes organising partnership priorities around cost competitiveness, environmental contribution, energy-system integration and market uptake.
The association is also seeking a wider place for heat pumps in EU policy. Its proposals include links to a Strategic Energy Technology plan implementation working group, a stronger focus in the working group on buildings and industry, continuation of a heat pump accelerator platform, and a net-zero industry academy for the sector. EHPA also calls for connections to the European Competitiveness Fund and deployment-focused instruments, including the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank.
How EU Research Funding Could Shape Heat Pumps
The debate concerns more than eligibility for individual research grants. A dedicated European Partnership could give heat-pump research a shared agenda and multi-year funding structure, allowing EU bodies and participating organisations to coordinate work across technologies and applications. That could matter to manufacturers, researchers and potential users if it supports development on cost, performance and integration challenges.
EHPA argues that formal recognition would also signal that the EU considers heat pumps a strategic technology. That is the association’s case, not a confirmed EU policy position. If adopted, the proposed approach could connect research support with industrial policy and deployment funding; the scale and practical effects would depend on the final programme and its funding decisions.
The proposed agenda spans buildings and industrial uses, from grid integration to high-temperature heat. The association’s request therefore seeks coverage of the full technology and application spectrum, rather than support limited to one market segment. Whether the EU adopts that scope remains unsettled.
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Horizon Europe’s Next Funding Cycle
Horizon Europe, also known as FP10, is the EU’s next research and innovation framework programme. It is intended to succeed the current 2021–2027 funding cycle and cover 2028 through 2034. The programme’s proposed budget is €175bn, according to the source report.
European Partnerships are one instrument within the programme. They bring the EU together with industry, research organisations and national funders to set a joint research agenda and co-fund it over several years. EHPA wants heat pumps to have such a partnership, alongside recognition as a priority area in the wider programme.
The programme is not yet final. Negotiations between EU member states and the European Parliament are scheduled to run through 2026 and 2027, with a full launch targeted for January 2028. EHPA’s call is therefore part of the discussion over how the next funding framework should set priorities and organise support.
“EHPA calls on the European Commission to recognise heat pumps as a dedicated thematic priority.”
— European Heat Pump Association
Key Decisions Still Pending
Heat-pump inclusion is not confirmed, and the source report does not identify a decision by the European Commission, member states or Parliament endorsing EHPA’s request. The final programme’s priorities, structure and budget allocations remain subject to negotiations.
It is also unclear whether a dedicated European Partnership would be created, what organisations would participate, how much funding it might receive or how its proposed research themes would be ranked. The source material gives no funding amount for a heat-pump partnership and does not set out specific project targets or measures of success.
EHPA’s proposed links to other policy groups and funding instruments are recommendations. The report does not establish whether those bodies will take them up or how any connection would work in practice.
Negotiations Set the Next Milestones
The next major stage is the legislative negotiation period in 2026 and 2027, when EU member states and the European Parliament are expected to work on the programme. EHPA’s proposal will need to compete with other priorities as the framework’s final design is settled.
The full Horizon Europe programme is targeted to launch in January 2028. Before then, decisions are still needed on the programme’s priorities and instruments, including whether heat pumps receive a dedicated partnership or other specific recognition. The source report does not give a date for a decision on EHPA’s request.
Key Questions
What is EHPA asking the EU to do?
The European Heat Pump Association wants heat pumps named as a priority in Horizon Europe 2028–2034 and supported through a dedicated European Partnership.
What is Horizon Europe?
Horizon Europe, also called FP10, is the EU’s planned research and innovation framework programme for 2028–2034, succeeding the 2021–2027 cycle. Its proposed budget is €175bn.
What research does EHPA want the partnership to cover?
EHPA identifies efficiency, new refrigerants, lower costs, grid integration and high-temperature industrial applications. It also proposes priorities on competitiveness, environmental contribution and market uptake.
Has the EU agreed to create a heat-pump partnership?
No such decision is confirmed in the source report. The proposal remains a request by EHPA while the next programme is being prepared and negotiated.
When could the programme begin?
Negotiations between EU member states and the European Parliament are scheduled for 2026 and 2027. The full programme is targeted to launch in January 2028.
Source: coolingpost.com
