PRESS RELEASE
25 April 2024
Based on the results of its latest Snapshot Survey, COGEN Europe anticipates that cogeneration solutions will continue to play an important role in Europe’s energy, competitiveness and decarbonisation ambitions. While the energy price crisis negatively impacted investments in new cogeneration capacity, slowing growth in the short term, national experts identify cogeneration as a key solution for the future of energy systems across Europe. Cogeneration using renewable energy sources and flexible cogeneration are identified as segments with important growth potential.
Carried out on an annual basis, the COGEN Europe Snapshot Survey aims to capture the cogeneration sector’s sentiment and expectations. The latest Snapshot Survey is based on contributions provided by national experts in 15 countries – including 14 EU Member States representing over 85% of the installed cogeneration capacity in the European Union, plus Turkey/Türkiye.
According to the survey results, the production of electricity and heat from the installed cogeneration fleet has declined (between 2021 and 2022/23) across several key markets – namely Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Portugal. This comes against the backdrop of exceptionally high gas prices that were seen in 2022, leading to many cogeneration users reducing or ceasing operation. Uncertainty linked to energy markets and policy have led to increased investment uncertainty, putting the deployment of new capacity on hold in many countries.
The survey results also identify pockets of growth in demand for cogeneration technologies, particularly in South-East Europe (Greece and Turkey/Türkiye) and in CHP* systems fuelled by renewable energy sources (RES) such as biogases and biomass. The use of renewables continues to increase, and currently accounts for more than 25% of all the primary energy used in cogeneration plants and installations throughout the European Union.
Looking ahead over the next five years (up until 2028), cogeneration experts expect slower ramp up of new capacity due to uncertainties linked to energy markets, policy implementation and financing opportunities. Countries with a positive outlook for growth in capacity or a renewal of the cogeneration fleet include Poland, Czechia, Romania and Turkey. In other countries, pockets of growth are identified for renewable cogeneration or specific industrial segments. Long term visions for the energy sector at national level identify cogeneration as critical for decarbonisation, competitiveness and energy resiliency.
Future trends are sensitive to both market and policy developments. Most European countries recognise cogeneration at a high level in national plans, including National Energy and Climate Plans, Hydrogen Plans, Heating & Cooling Assessments. Yet support is not always adapted to the needs of the sector, aligned with the benefits of cogeneration or sufficient to address existing barriers that hinder the uptake of cogeneration technologies.
The absence of an adequate policy framework for cogeneration will not only impact the future prospects for cogeneration, but also negatively affect the operation of existing cogeneration users, across district heating networks, industry and other applications.
Referring to the results of its latest Snapshot Survey, COGEN Europe anticipates that cogeneration technologies will continue to play an important role in the coming years, as Europe advances towards the objective of ‘net zero’ greenhouse gas emissions.
“In the medium to long-term, we see a lot of potential for low-carbon and zero-carbon based CHP – in particular renewables with biogas, biomethane – and that will help the EU in terms of its decarbonisation targets,” explains Hans Korteweg, COGEN Europe’s Managing Director. “So CHP will continue to play an important role when these molecules – decarbonised molecules – become available, and then they can be utilized in the most efficient way possible.”
Today, cogeneration provides 70% of the heat used in district heating and cooling (DHC) networks across Europe, and up to 90% of process heat used in critical industries, such as alumina, chemicals, food & drink, pulp & paper. In the future, cogeneration will remain important for European industry, buildings and cities, adapting to the changing needs of energy systems. The optimal deployment of cogeneration would enable a more efficient, resilient and cost-effective pathway to net-zero emissions. By 2050, cogeneration could deliver up to 36% of EU’s thermally produced energy and up to 90% of heat that cannot be electrified**.
A summary of the survey results is available here.
Watch the interview with Hans Korteweg on the Cogeneration Channel.
* CHP or ‘Combined Heat and Power’ is another name for cogeneration.
** Towards an efficient, integrated and cost-effective net-zero energy system in 2050: the role of cogeneration – Study produced by Artelys for COGEN Europe (2020)