Brussels, 20 July 2026 – The European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE) welcomes the European Commission’s Electrification Action Plan and its objective of accelerating electrification across Europe as a decisive step for Europe’s energy sovereignty and competitiveness.
The plan sets out a pathway to raise the share of electricity in the EU’s final energy consumption – currently at around 23% and well behind leading Asian economies – through a binding 2040 electrification target, expanded energy storage capacity and a package of measures targeting industry, transport and buildings.
Russell Patten, EPEE Secretary General, said: “This is the moment our industry has been waiting for. Heat pumps are the single most effective technology that helps Europe to cut oil and gas dependence, lower household energy bills and keep manufacturing jobs in Europe. The European Commission has recognised that efficient electrification is not just a climate imperative but a matter of economic sovereignty. We now need Member States and co-legislators to move just as decisively.”
EPEE particularly welcomes
- A clear, economy wide electrification trajectory to 2040 giving industry and investors longterm visibility needed to scale up manufacturing and installation capacity across Europe. EPEE welcomes the upcoming EU Waste Heat Initiative and the objective of meeting 11% of EU heat demand through waste heat recovery by 2050. The refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump sector can directly contribute by recovering and reusing heat from industrial processes, cooling and refrigeration systems, and data centres;
- Targeted support for heat pump deployment, including VAT reduction, financing mechanisms to address the upfront cost that has held back faster adoption;
- Recognition of electrification as a competitiveness and security issue, not only a climate issue, reframing the debate in economic terms. The Commission estimates that this could save the EU as much as €200 billion in avoided fossil fuel imports by 2040.
EPEE therefore calls for a dedicated European Heating and Cooling Initiative, accompanied by financial support and fiscal incentives.
“Europe cannot accelerate electrification without making efficient technologies genuinely affordable. At the same time, access to cooling is becoming essential to protect people during increasingly frequent periods of extreme heat. The Electrification Action Plan is a strong starting point, but it must be followed by concrete measures supporting the entire heating and cooling sector,” said Russell Patten, Director General of EPEE.
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About EPEE
The European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE) represents manufacturing companies and associations operating in the refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat pump (RACHP) industry in Europe.
Contact
Agnese Longo; Communications Advisor; a.longo@epeeglobal.org
