Exploring Barriers to Heat Pump Adoption in Industry: Insights from a Survey

Electrifying industry is a key driver to achieve European climate targets while remaining competitive. For process heat, market-ready technologies like large-scale heat pumps offer significant potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost energy efficiency. Beyond energy-policy driven aspects like the ratio of electricity to gas prices, time-variable electricity tariffs, and investment subsidies, knowledge-based factors are probably also have considerable influence on market penetration. This study is part of a broader action research initiative that combines diffusion analysis with the co-development of instruments supporting information cascades and reducing adoption barriers. To ensure that instruments developed meet industry needs, we conducted a survey on market diffusion of large-scale heat pumps. The questionnaire was developed in two steps: first, expert interviews were conducted at a professional trade fair for air conditioning and refrigeration technology to identify drivers and barriers. Based on this, a questionnaire was developed inspired by a typical business-to-business purchasing process, while focusing on identifying relevant actors, drivers and barriers. The online survey addressed approximately 615 industry professionals and was conducted between March and June 2025. We received 48 responses, with 31 referring specifically to process heat. Our findings show that integration into existing production structures and the need for technical expertise are seen as particularly challenging and important aspects for further market penetration. These findings suggest that support instruments should focus primarily on these aspects.