With the support of the export initiative of the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the French-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised in Paris an event dedicated to the development of innovative technologies in the energy efficiency sector of residential and tertiary buildings.

Round tables, keynote speeches, workshops and B2B meetings brought together key players in the energy and building sector from France and Germany, with the aim of promoting concrete and sustainable cooperation.

Johann Zirngibl, REHVA, vice president and member of the French association AICVF, participated in the workshop dedicated to "Electrification of smart buildings and energy systems".

France and Germany share the same European objective of carbon neutrality by 2050. But the paths to achieve it are different. France is focusing on the development of its nuclear power plants, while Germany is focusing on renewables. France is ahead in terms of electrification, also due to the overproduction of its nuclear power plants. In 2025, around 1 million heat pumps (179,000 air-to-water, 803,000 air-to-air) have been installed.

The key element of electrification is electricity production. If the production is highly carbon-intensive, the electrification of uses does not make sense, which partly explains Germany's backwardness.  

The importance of the holistic approach, integrating the entire energy chain from production to use, and taking into account the flexibility of supply and demand, was highlighted.