End of gas boilers: “Irresponsible”, castigates Jo Le Mer, boss of Sermeta – Economy – Economic news in Brittany and France

“The goal of decarbonizing energy is laudable. In fact, we’ve been working on this for years. The problem is the method. There are the political decisions and there is the technical reality”. Jo Le Mer and Ludovic Bara, Chairman and CEO of Sermeta, world leader in the manufacture of heat exchangers for condensing boilers, do not hide their concern about the government’s desire to put an end to new gas boilers . If the decision were to be taken after the consultation period announced by the latter (until July 28), the Morlais company with 950 employees would not be among the first victims. Because 95% of its 260 M€ turnover is achieved through export. Still, the subject is extremely sensitive.

“We are told about energy transition. But what is a transition, asks Jo Le Mer? It is the passage, in a given time, from one state to another. There, we are asked to switch to all-electric overnight. Without transition, precisely. But no one is ready. With this strategy, we are going straight into the wall. And the boss of Sermeta recalls that last winter, the country had to import electricity for the first time in its history.

“We want to eliminate all fossil fuels. Alright. But the next nuclear power stations will not be operational before 15 years at best. What do we do in the meantime if all homes are equipped with electric heat pumps? We will never be able to feed. It is irresponsible vis-à-vis the French, because power cuts will be inevitable. »

“Heat pumps, three times more polluting” in winter

For the two strong men of Sermeta, who are “neither anti EDF nor anti heat pumps”, the government is going too fast. From there to say that the latter is doing “green washing”, there is a step that the duo does not cross. However, he wants to set a few clocks on time. “In winter, the heat pumps operate with electricity that is not 100% green, since we have to import and restart gas or coal-fired backup power plants here and there. The result: they pollute three times more than a gas boiler. So, in summary, it goes against the desired result while accentuating the trade deficit of the country. That does not make any sense. And Ludovic Bara recalls that the Netherlands, the first European country to have banned gas boilers, are backtracking. “They will switch to hybrid heat pumps in 2026”. With gas, then. This is also the direction taken by Germany and Italy.

The hybrid, “the common sense solution”

La Sermeta works precisely on the hybridization of heat pumps and the improvement of components, for the time being almost exclusively manufactured in Asia. “It is the transitional solution of common sense that we must adopt. We are at the prototype stage. But we don’t know if the government also wants to ban the hybrid”, slips Jo Le Mer. Who has the impression of being the earthen pot facing the iron pot. “They don’t seem to want to listen to us. Despite its status as a world leader, no one has yet consulted Sermeta. If we only take the opinion of all-electric proponents, it won’t be very complicated to ban gas. »