Regulation of heat accumulators

The Paris Climate Protection Agreement stipulates that greenhouse gas neutrality is to be achieved by 2050, while the German Climate Protection Act brings this deadline forward to 2045. The transformation and necessary energy turnaround required for this also affects the heating sector. The Heat Planning Act, which has been in force since January 1, 2024, places new requirements on federal states and municipalities. The state of Berlin is legally obliged to draw up a heating plan by 2026. The inclusion of heat storage systems also represents potential for the decarbonization of Berlin’s heating networks. In the research project “Heat storage potential for the state of Berlin”, various heat storage technologies (such as aquifer heat storage) and specific applications were therefore examined and tested for their feasibility in Berlin.

Since not only technical parameters, the actual space requirements and economic factors of the heat storage systems are relevant here, IKEM is carrying out an in-depth legal classification on behalf of the Berlin Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment and as a project partner of RLI and IÖW. Planning and licensing aspects play a central role in the realization of heat storage systems. In addition to securing land for the construction of heat storage facilities, which depends on political will, the specific design of the approval regime is also crucial. There are key obstacles in land use planning and approval law, which can be attributed in particular to a lack of legal anchoring of the technologies in the instruments of spatial and sectoral planning as well as legal uncertainties in the demarcation between mining and water law and the inconsistent classification of brine. The analysis comprehensively prepares the legal framework and identifies possible legal levers for the implementation of heat storage systems in Berlin.