The rush is great. But anyone who quickly orders a new gas heating system now in order to avoid the climate protection requirements planned from the beginning of 2024 is likely to fly wrong. "It is a fallacy that existing natural gas heating systems can be used until 2045 without conversions," warned Ingbert Liebing, Managing Director of the Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU), in an interview with the F.A.Z.

Helmut Bünder

Business correspondent in Dusseldorf.

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The head of the municipal utilities association refers to the gradual conversion of the infrastructure and the network costs. With each additional consumer who switches from gas to a heat pump, the infrastructure costs for the remaining gas customers increase. "At some point, a tipping point will be reached where natural gas operation is simply no longer worthwhile or simply becomes too expensive for the remaining customers," says Liebing. By then, at the latest, only climate-friendly "green" gases, district heating or even heat pumps will remain.

On Wednesday, the new Building Energy Act is to go to the cabinet. According to the draft, existing oil and gas heating systems may continue to be operated, but new gas boilers may only be installed from 2024 if they are suitable for operation with climate-neutral fuels. From 2035, at least 65 percent green or blue hydrogen will be mandatory. One is produced in a climate-friendly way with green electricity, the other is obtained from natural gas by capturing the carbon dioxide produced. However, according to the gas industry, the exemption in favour of hydrogen and biogas, which was introduced at the insistence of the FDP, is more cosmetic than a real alternative to the heat pump preferred by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Prices are going through the roof

Their purchase prices are already going through the roof. In old buildings, where almost half of all heating systems run on natural gas, there are often high additional costs. "The traffic light coalition promises openness to technology, but that remains theory, as the draft is now formulated. The hurdles are so high that they will prevent the switch to hydrogen and green gases in practice," said Liebing. But for the heat transition, all technical possibilities would have to be used. "There is no such thing as the ideal solution that fits best everywhere." Eon, the largest private gas network operator, is also calling for far-reaching improvements. What is needed is "real openness to technology in order to exploit all available solutions," said a spokesman.

From the point of view of the network operators, one of the biggest obstacles is the planned requirements for the conversion to hydrogen use. Gas heating systems should only be installed after 2024 if the responsible distribution system operator guarantees that the hydrogen infrastructure will be operational by 2035. De facto, the climate protection targets for gas networks would thus be brought forward by ten years, criticizes the gas industry. The VKU also fears recourse claims if a timely conversion and supply of hydrogen does not succeed.