A trade show addressing the core topics of heat generation and supply, infrastructure and transportation grids, heating services, digitalisation of heat as well as R&D and capital investment: HEATEXPO is bringing all these topics together at Messe Dortmund between 26 and 28 November 2024. Visitors will have the opportunity to experience the latest technologies and talk to people in the industry about innovative solutions to the diverse challenges associated with any part of the green heating value chain.

Dortmund, 26 November 2024 – HEATEXPO in Dortmund has established itself as a trade show forum for everything related to the move to renewable heating – as clearly shown by growth rates since last year, in fact exhibitor numbers are up 50%, with one in five visitors now coming from elsewhere in Europe. Best-practice examples from pioneering green heating countries such as Denmark also provide key impetus for local authorities here.

Sabine Loos, Managing Director of Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe which owns and operates the Messe Dortmund venue, explained: “Last year, thanks to the expertise of our partners, we succeeded in positioning HEATEXPO strategically as a new, innovative show that really got noticed across Europe. We've now taken the next logical step, building on this extremely solid foundation and taking the follow-up show to the next level. This progress can be seen in the growth rate of exhibitors overall, coupled with a consistently high international share of 20% coming in from eleven European countries. We're also seeing strong domestic demand for this show which doesn't just showcase new solutions to the diverse challenges facing the move to renewables, but also features in-depth discussions on them.”

Broad support from policy-makers and associations

Once again this year, HEATEXPO has the political players behind it, with the German Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development & Construction (BMWSB) again acting as patron of HEATEXPO, and with Minister Klara Geywitz delivering a welcome message to participants after which Christian Maaß, Head of the Heat, Hydrogen and Efficiency Department at the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Protection, will deliver an opening keynote speech at the show.

Joining the German Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development & Construction are the show's technical partners: the Municipal Enterprises Association (VKU), which is also the conceptual sponsor, VDMA Power Systems, the German Urban Municipalities' Convention, the German Local Government Confederation (DStGB), the German Association of Non-Metropolitan Districts, the Rhineland & Westphalia branch of the German Housing & Real Estate Industry Association (VdW) and the Association for the Economical Use of Energy and Water (ASEW). They have also helped create the comprehensive first-rate supporting programme and are involved in panel discussions and keynote talks. A new feature this year is the Danish Pavilion established with the support of the Danish Board of District Heating (DBDH) and the Trade Council of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Focal points and highlights at HEATEXPO 2024

The HEATEXPO Forum on Day 1 of the show will give an overview of the current state of affairs and the current strategies for the provision of heating with regard to the housing sector. The panel discussions and presentations will bring together stakeholders from the worlds of policy making, associations, businesses and local authorities. One of the many highlights will be the panel on the conversion to district heating on 26 November at which Elsebeth Arendt, Head of Waste and District Heating in Aarhus, Denmark, will give a comprehensive overview of the measures taken and the projects underway in the city. The resulting challenges and opportunities will be discussed together with three other experts from the Danish district heating industry.

The 'Heating Transition with District Heating' theme day on 27 November, presented by EUROHEAT&POWER, will offer a wide range of real-life insights into ensuring and optimising successful heat planning and implementation as well as future-proof positioning for municipal district heating operators. One key focal point of the day will be the KLIMA.FORUM dedicated to the current challenges and opportunities in municipal heating supplies. The focus will be on issues relating to the transformation towards carbon-neutral solutions and their significance for climate protection. Exhibitors in this sector include pipe system manufacturers for local and district heating supplies such as ISOPLUS, Kingspan LOGSTOR, Interplast SA and Bänninger Kunststoff-Produkte GmbH. They are being joined by heat pump suppliers such as Danfoss GmbH Climate Solutions and GEA Refrigeration Technologies GmbH. The following day will see heating transition pioneer Denmark presenting numerous other examples of best practice in district heating.

Clear focus on areas of application for local authorities

New this year is the Local Government Campus – the central meeting point for everyone involved in municipal heat planning. It addresses the urgent issues facing local authorities with regard to heat plans and offers a host of opportunities to discuss challenges and opportunities in panel discussions and keynote talks. Big-name partners such as the German Urban Municipalities' Convention, the German Local Government Confederation (DStGB), the German Association of Non-Metropolitan Districts, the Association for the Economical Use of Energy and Water (ASEW), the Regionalverband Ruhr regional development body (RVR) and NRW.Energy4Climate/LANUV are making their expertise available in this context.

A fourth mainstay being addressed at HEATEXPO is geothermal energy, positioning this as a key focus issue at the event thanks to the collaboration with the German Geothermal Energy Association. With the presentation of the Geothermal Energy Masterplan, North Rhine Westphalia – the most populous of the German states – is also the first to table a strategy for using carbon-neutral geothermal energy and aims to become a pioneer in this. The exhibitors include numerous businesses specialising in geothermal energy, including Eavor GmbH, GNV GmbH, REMKO, Viega Deutschland, KLINGER Fluid Control, Rud. Otto Meyer Technik GmbH & Co KG, TURBODEN, the Alois Müller Group and Bänninger Kunststoff-Produkte GmbH.

In addition to innovative technologies and the latest analysis techniques, the show brings together many other fields as well as a host of panel discussions and best practices in the provision of heating. Services, financing and consulting also feature prominently. HEATEXPO shows how technologies, products and services can work together to achieve heating targets, and provides a European forum for all players in the value chain to engage in dialogue.

The complete programmes can be found at:

HEATEXPO FORUM: www.heat-expo.de/en-gb/forum-heatexpo 

KLIMA.FORUM ON THE MOVE: www.heat-expo.de/en-gb/klimaforum

Local Government Campus: www.heat-expo.de/en-gb/kommunaler-campus