Germany has officially adopted the target of cutting primary energy use by nearly one third by 2030. The government has pledged to provide 50 million euro in additional funds per year to the federal package promoting energy efficiency in industry.

Consumption is supposed to decrease by 30 percent compared to 2008, according to the country’s Energy Efficiency Strategy 2050 adopted by the federal cabinet. The strategy also defines measures intended to improve energy efficiency in buildings, industry, transport and agriculture – including tax incentives for energy efficient building renovations, more energy counselling and the expansion of district heating networks, according to Clean Energy Wire.

In the area of industrial process heat, the strategy aims to save 50 terawatt hours (TWh) and 12 million tonnes of CO2 per year, partly by boosting the use of excess heat.

Germany’s strategy also states that a dialogue process with stakeholders from industry, civil society, federal states and research institutes will develop measures to halve Germany’s primary energy use by 2050.