France wants to massively increase heat pump rollout to slash its fossil fuel reliance.
Late last week, the French government announced a plan to speed up electrification and cut France’s dependency on fossil fuels from 60% to 40% by 2030.
In his speech, prime minister Lecornu specificially linked the electrification of France to its sovereignty.
Heat pumps are key to this: the French aim to install a million heat pumps each year to 2030. This is almost double the units sold in France last year.
Heat pumps will cut heating costs in half, Lecornu said. He also specifically pointed out that heat pumps are made in France and that the sector offers tens of thousands of jobs.
Paul Kenny, director general of the European Heat Pump Association said:
“The French have nailed it. Heat pumps are key to unlocking strategic autonomy, European production and jobs, elimination of fossil fuels, lower energy bills. Other countries are also taking some of these steps, but now more than ever it’s time to speed up.”
The French government will provide grants of €1,000 to 80,000 low-income households for the installation of a heat pump, and say 2 million social homes will be gas-free by 2050. Gas boilers will be banned in new homes as of end 2026.
There are also measures for increasing electrification of transport, with the aim of two in three new cars being electric by 2030.
