The EU has launched a €1.8 million ($2.15 million) subscription model, funded through its LIFE Program from November 2025 to October 2028, to encourage the adoption of heat pumps in leased commercial and public buildings.
The HP-Subscribe model uses third-party ownership and subscription fees to address barriers to heat pump installations in leased buildings caused by the split incentive between landlords and tenants. Hydrocarbon natural refrigerant heat pumps are eligible under the EU LIFE Program and compliant with the EU F-gas Regulation’s low-GWP requirements.
“With HP-Subscribe, we want to make clean heating accessible to every building, regardless of ownership structure or financial capacity,” said Petra Pomper, Project Coordinator and building sector expert at the Institute for European Energy and Climate Policy (IEECP). “This project demonstrates that the energy transition can advance in a way that is fair, scalable and effective.”
Heat pumps offer a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels for heating and cooling, aligning with goals outlined in the European Green Deal and the REPowerEU plan, according to the European Commission. In 2024 heat pumps claimed 28% of the region’s space heating market, according to the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA).
Based on the size of the leased building, the required capacities for cooling, heating and hot water could range from a few kilowatts to more than a megawatt. In the past, landlords shouldered the financial burden of installing and maintaining heat pumps, while tenants paid lower energy bills.
How HP-Subscribe works: The model shifts heat pump ownership, installation and maintenance to a service provider, a third party separate from the landlord or tenant. To spread the initial cost of the heat pump over time, end users pay a subscription fee.
- HP-Subscribe aims to engage energy-service companies, financial institutions, public authorities, building owners and manufacturers to validate and promote the model, with pilot projects in Austria, France and Greece, the European Commission said.
- In Ireland the project will connect existing heat pump initiatives with service providers and financial partners, according to EHPA.
- The project will enhance the business case for heat pumps by leveraging regulatory frameworks such as white certificate schemes and demand–response programs that support grid flexibility.
Many options: Several European manufacturers offer propane (R290)-based heat pump solutions that meet the requirements of the model.
- Procure Plus appointed four R290 heat pumps produced by Viessmann Climate Solutions, a division EUof Carrier Global Corporation, to the U.K. social housing and other public sector low- and zero-carbon projects framework. The capacities of the units range from 1.1 to 140kW (0.6 to 39.8TR).
- Italian Enerblue’s Purple range of air-to-water heat pumps offers heating capacities of 22–221kW (6.3–62.8TR). Its new Palladium range includes a four-pipe model capable of providing simultaneous heating and cooling.
- In September 2025 Panasonic announced that it was investing €320 million ($373.8 million) to expand and refurbish its facility in the Czech Republic, with the aim of producing 1.4 million residential and commercial heat pumps for the European market by 2030.
Cooling projects: The EU continues to finance the development of sustainable solutions as part of its climate action plan.
- The Life-ZeroGWP Project, coordinated by Italian Innova, developed the first high-efficiency double-ducted propane air conditioner without an outdoor unit. With less than 150g of R290 per circuit, the resulting INNOVA 2.0NR, available from 2022, compares to the best HFC solutions on the market in terms of energy efficiency and convenience, according to Life-ZeroGWP.
- The SMACool project, which runs until September 2027 with an allotted €3.9 million ($4.45 million) in funding, aims to develop a prototype of a residential air conditioner using elastocaloric technology. Instead of a refrigerant, it uses nickel-titanium, also known as nitinol, which heats up when mechanically stressed and cools when de-stressed.
Quotable: “This subscription–based service guarantees modern, efficient and clean heating with reduced energy costs for tenants, while owners benefit from higher building value without the burden of capital investment,” EHPA said.
“With HP-Subscribe, we want to make clean heating accessible to every building, regardless of ownership structure or financial capacity.”
Petra Pomper, HP-Subscribe Project Coordinator
