The new Building Energy Act (GEG), which most citizens saw as Habeck’s heating hammer, is a central building block in the green transformation process – and leads into the lowlands of tens of millions of boiler rooms. In the foreseeable future, boilers will no longer provide heat there, but instead this job will be given to outdoor heat pumps.
In Habeck’s opinion, there was no alternative to heat pumps for his turning point – because they are not only good for the climate, but also catapult us technologically into completely new heating spheres.
Viessmann from northern Hesse is one of the big players in the industry. But now, of all times, when the boom is actually just beginning, the family business pulls the plug and sells the division to Carrier Global.
Viessmann deal has an impact on Habeck’s heat transition
This may pay off for the owners. The buyers are to put twelve billion euros on the table, 80 percent of it in cash and the rest in shares. But what effects does the deal have for Germany and Habeck’s much-cited heat transition?
“Based on our very positive growth momentum and our leading integrated solutions offering, we are merging our Climate Solutions business with Carrier and creating a future-proof global climate champion,” CEO Max Viessman explained the move. In the “Handelsblatt” he also noted: “There is no question that the regulatory environment played an important role in our decision. But it wasn’t the deciding factor.”
Martin Gornig, research director for industrial policy at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), classifies the surprising step for FOCUS online: “It There are certainly good reasons for doing so, especially since this market is now completely changing and is advancing into completely new dimensions.” The companies themselves should know which strategy is the right one. “Above all, whether they are confident of this growth or whether they are better off relying on large partners.”
Heat pumps are reminiscent of the boom in the solar industry
Gornig recalls the boom in the German solar industry a decade back, which was also based on political decisions and massive subsidies – and ultimately ended abruptly. “But the step into mass production was too big,” says Gornig. “Politicians could have guessed that automatisms do not necessarily work just because you want them to.”
From the consumer’s point of view, he even sees advantages if mass production starts now. “On the one hand, we no longer have to worry about availability, and on the other hand, the devices are becoming cheaper,” explains Gornig.
The energy expert Andreas Goldthau from the University of Erfurt is also convinced: “The consumer will ideally benefit from the takeover, he doesn’t care about the origin of his heat pump,” Goldthau told FOCUS online. “Because economies of scale are about size, and both bring – in a functioning market – the unit prices go down.” For Goldthau, cost degression is the order of the day in order to promote decarbonization in the building sector.
“The question that arises, however, in view of the experience of broken supply chains and an excessive concentration of the market in strategic sectors, is: Are we willing to accept that decisions about production capacities, especially in technology areas that are central to the energy transition, are controlled outside of Europe, or should countermeasures be taken here in terms of industrial policy ? And can the Mittelstand as a model survive in a mass-scale ‘clean tech’ market?”
Habeck wants to check Viessmann sale
Habeck reacted in a typical way for him: “We will look at the project as part of the planned test steps and are in discussion with the seller and the investor so that the project serves our economy and Germany as a location,” said the Green politician. The advantages of German energy policy and the profits that would be generated with it should continue to benefit Germany as a business location.
Since heat pumps are not considered critical infrastructure, at least not yet, Germany cannot actually put a stop to the deal. But the question remains how naive Habeck and his confidants in the Federal Ministry of Economics actually are.
Did you really believe that the large amount of funding that was being trumpeted around would remain hidden from the rest of the world? Or is the test only for show purposes and in truth the corks are popping at the BMWK because there is now even more movement in the heat pump world?
“Politicians are surprised by things that were actually foreseeable”
“Sometimes you get the impression that politicians are surprised by things that were actually foreseeable,” emphasizes Gornig, citing Viessmann as an example. “Here, I would like to see a more farsighted industrial policy that doesn’t only kick in when the first companies leave.”
For SME boss Markus Jerger, the sale reveals “that the ecological and economic turnaround announced by Economics Minister Habeck does not benefit Germany, but other countries such as the USA, which are now drawing profits from German companies.” According to Jerger, if Habeck does not change course, other medium-sized companies would Companies follow suit and continue to put the German economy under foreign pressure.
Expert criticizes narrowing down to heat pumps as a “wooden path”
In this context, the construction and energy expert Lamia Messari-Becker warned against dependence on large corporations in China, South Korea and the USA. Only these could deliver the necessary millions of pieces. The German industry is primarily characterized by medium-sized companies, said the professor for building technology and building physics at the University of Siegen. “What used to be a strength is now in danger of being lost due to wrong decisions.”
Messari-Becker also criticized the fact that Economics Minister Habeck was relying too much on electricity-based heat pumps for the heat transition. “That’s not the way to go.” In addition to the heat pump, hydrogen-capable heating systems, district and local heating, geothermal energy, bioenergy and municipal heating plans with renewable energies would also have to be used.
For Michal Kruse, the energy policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, the Viessmann sale is a strong indication that the German technology companies are under massive pressure due to the inadequate location policy on the part of the Minister of Economics. “We therefore urgently need to improve the site conditions,” says Kruse.
Things are not that bad for Germany as a business location
Martin Gornig from DIW Berlin, meanwhile, sees Germany’s future as an industrial location quite optimistically: “The location has great potential, even in the phase of upheaval,” he said to FOCUS online. Germany in particular has positioned itself excellently as a supplier to the world.
As an example, he named mechanical engineering, which ensures that new production processes are marketable. “These are core competencies of German industry.” The professor emphasized: “If we don’t set the course completely wrong at the political level, I’m very optimistic about Germany as an industrial location.”
