Brussels, 23rd June 2025: Solar Heat Europe, the voice of the solar thermal industry in Brussels, appointed at its General Assembly its new Board of Directors. Following the alarming signs recently shared by the scientific community regarding the impact of human-induced global warming rates, awareness on the key role that solar heat can play as a ready–to–deploy technology will be one of the new Board’s priorities.
“This is a critical decade: human-induced global warming rates are at their highest historical level, and 1.5°C global warming might be expected to be reached or exceeded in around 5 years in the absence of cooling from major volcanic eruptions. Yet this is also the decade when global GHG emissions could be expected to peak and begin to substantially decline.”
Guglielmo Cioni, appointed Solar Heat Europe President in June 2023 and re-elected in June 2025, said: “This extract from the report released on 19 June 2025 by 61 scientific experts from 17 different countries in the Earth System Science Data review is – yet again – a very clear alarm bell for the entire community on the urgent need to embrace and accelerate seriously the decarbonisation of our economies.
Next to electricity (20%) and transport (30%), the decarbonization of heating (and cooling) is the biggest issue to solve with it occupying 50% of total energy end use worldwide. Heat is primarily generated through the burning of fossil fuels, and contributes around 40% of all global emissions.
Solar Heat Europe is committed to highlight the benefit of our members technologies and innovation and accelerate its uptake on all our market segments. This is more than urgent. But I am convinced that we are well setup to fulfill this mission.
I welcome to our Board of Directors our new colleagues Ms Lucie Nebut from Newheat and Mr Christos Travasaros from the Greek Industry Association, and I would like to also thank on this occasion our outgoing Directors Edwige Porcheyre from Enerplan and Pierre Delmas from Newheat”.
Solar heat is an evident renewable energy technology, ready-to-deploy technology harnessing the sun’s energy to provide hot water, heat or steam. It can be easily combined with existing heating technologies, such as heat pumps or gas boilers, leading to increased efficiencies as well as carbon and cost savings.
By 2030, solar heat in Europe has the potential to provide 33.3 Mt CO2 savings annually alongside significant cost savings for end-users. The technology can play a key role to limit the impacts of global warming, whilst contributing to security of supply and competitiveness.
About Solar Heat Europe:
Solar Heat Europe aims to promote and facilitate the successful deployment of all solar thermal technologies as efficient, ready-to-deploy and reliable decarbonised energy sources for the provision of heating and cooling in buildings, district heating networks and across industry. Its network represents more than 225 organisations covering different parts of the value chain and manufacturing in Europe.
For any enquiry, please contact:
valerie.sejourne@solarheateurope.eu
+32 471 34 19 24