Dortmund, 1 December 2025 – After three full days, there was no doubting HEATEXPO's growth trajectory, with more visitors, more international exhibitors, more space and a significantly broader range of subject matter. At what was the third HEATEXPO at Messe Dortmund (25 – 27 November 2025), the show for tomorrow's heating certainly fulfilled its role of being the central platform for technology-based solutions, political impetus and real-life implementations in both heating and cooling.

With over 200 exhibitors – a further increase over the two previous shows – and around 25% international participation, HEATEXPO also notched up a significant increase in visitor numbers, with specialist delegations and participants from Scandinavia, the Benelux countries and Eastern Europe, to name but some, ensuring these countries were especially well represented. The percentage of people from local government authorities and energy suppliers, industrial businesses, planning consultancies and housing operators was also noticeably higher.

Strong response and strategic tailwinds

“HEATEXPO is all about strategically evolving a market that's currently gaining momentum in Germany and Europe,” summarised Sabine Loos, Managing Director of Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe which owns and operates the Messe Dortmund venue, continuing: “The fact that we've succeeded once again in growing the number of international exhibitors and trade visitors sends out a strong signal for Dortmund as a business location and for the role that HEATEXPO is playing as an innovation platform for the industry.”

Exhibitors and partners were also very up-beat about the event. In the exhibitor survey, 91% confirmed they wanted to exhibit at HEATEXPO again next year. The opportunities for good after-show business and the high number of visitors to the stands were also especially lauded. Also impressive, once again, were the professional credentials of participants in matters related to heating and cooling, infrastructure and grids, digitalisation of heating, services, development and capital investment.

Following excellent previous years, HEATEXPO succeeded once again in growing visitor numbers by a significant margin. The results of the visitor survey  also showed consistently excellent results, with 91.4% of respondents in favour of a repeat visit – a result that follows on seamlessly from last year's excellent figure.

The fact that HEATEXPO maintained its high professional credentials on all three days of the show was also reflected in the attendance of high-ranking representatives from the words of business and political decision-making, with the guests in Dortmund including Dr Rolf Bösinger, Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance, and Dr Michael G. Müller, CFO of RWE AG, both of whom used their visit to chat to exhibitors as well as participating actively in a HEATEXPO Forum panel discussion on the final day of the show.

Conceptual sponsors providing impetus: VKU and VDMA Power Systems

Ingbert Liebing, Chief Executive of the Municipal Enterprises Association (VKU), emphasised: “HEATEXPO is increasingly establishing itself as the flagship trade show for the heating sector. It shows clearly that technology is making a lot of things possible in the move to renewable heating. But the heating transition also requires people's buy-in, and this will only be forthcoming if the heating transition is a feasible – also financially feasible – option for everyone. That's why we need statutory reforms.” Dr Dennis Rendschmidt, Executive Director of VDMA Power Systems, added: “The topic of process heat and our diverse formats met with great interest at HEATEXPO. The discussions have demonstrated clearly that this topic is really gaining momentum. The opportunities for cross-sector synergies to decarbonise the industry are tremendous. Net zero heat generation uses mature technology and, given the right overall framework, is also economical to implement. It's now a matter of actively shaping this overall framework in order to get the roll-out moving in the market.”

Evolving the HEATEXPO brand: new positioning and new slogan

At the end of the third show, Messe Dortmund announced it was sharpening the HEATEXPO profile further with the addition of the new strapline 'the leading trade fair for innovative heat and cool supply' in response to the fact that heating and cooling are increasingly being conceived, planned and operated as conjoined systems. Throughout Europe, cooling is gaining in importance, and here in Germany, too, municipal utilities and energy suppliers are increasingly focussing on integrated systems instead of looking at the two areas separately.

This change can be seen directly at HEATEXPO, with many exhibitors presenting solutions combining heating and cooling applications in a single system, and with large heat pumps, storage/grid solutions and smart control systems designed to fulfil both tasks. “This broader positioning is our logical response to this development in the market, positioning HEATEXPO in a way that's clearly in tune with the times. The delineation between heating and cooling is steadily fading,” she added.

The new slogan 'Innovation in every degree' makes it clear that, in future, innovations for heating and cooling will converge in Dortmund in equal measure. HEATEXPO covers the entire spectrum of modern solutions – from comfort cooling in offices and climate control in data centres to grid-connected systems in neighbourhoods and high-temperature process heat for industrial users. At the same time, the slogan expresses a 360-degree take on the entire value chain behind these supply systems.

Looking ahead: HEATEXPO 2026

Following this year's success, the focus is already turning to HEATEXPO 2026 which is scheduled to take place in Dortmund from 24 to 26 November 2026 and will be accompanied by a campaign featuring the new key visual and highlighting the show's international focus.