The platform for waste heat makes unused industrial heat potential publicly accessible for the first time. Our geographical visualization shows where opportunities for use are concentrated - and opens up new perspectives for energy efficiency and the local heat transition.
Own representation
The Platform for Waste Heat is an initiative of the Federal Agency for Energy Efficiency (BfEE) within the framework of the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG). Its aim is to make commercial waste heat potential in Germany visible and to promote its use.
For the first time, the platform for waste heat offers a comprehensive overview of commercial waste heat potential in Germany with the aim of harnessing this unused energy and thus increasing energy efficiency. Companies with a total annual final energy consumption of more than 2.5 gigawatt hours are obliged to make their waste heat data available on this public platform. The portal for the platform has been available since April 2024 and the submission of reports was activated in November 2024. The first reporting deadline ended on January 1, 2025, and by March 14, 2025, data from over 3,000 companies with more than 21,000 waste heat potentials and a total annual waste heat volume of 171 terawatt hours had been recorded.
We have used these extensive data sets to create a graphical representation on a geographical map. The spatial visualization makes it possible to clearly identify regional focuses of waste heat generation.
The interactive map makes it possible to zoom in on specific regions or individual locations. The red circles mark reported waste heat sources - their size is in direct proportion to the amount of waste heat potential in each case. By clicking on a circle, additional information such as the name of the company and the reported amount of heat in kilowatt hours per year can be viewed.
In this way, potential conurbations can be identified in which the use of waste heat could be particularly economically or ecologically worthwhile. Another advantage of the cartographic representation is the possibility of visualizing potential synergies between different actors - for example between industrial plants with high waste heat generation and nearby residential areas, public facilities or other consumers with heat requirements. This can significantly facilitate the planning and implementation of heating networks, waste heat cooperations or investments in infrastructure.
Last but not least, the visualization also supports political decision-makers, energy planners and municipal administrations in the targeted development of sustainable and regionally adapted energy concepts.
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