Investment in UK ground source heat pump market

• Rendesco developing gross pipeline of £150m+ to turbocharge the rollout of low-carbon heating solutions to new build developers
• New build homes will be required to be future-proofed with low-carbon heating by 2025
• Using ground source heat technology, Rendesco provides clean and low-cost heat to more than 3,000 homes

Rendesco, the UK’s largest clean heat developer, has today announced it is developing a gross pipeline of over £150m to accelerate the rollout of low-carbon heating in new build developments across the country. Rendesco offers households a compelling alternative to gas with a cleaner solution known as ground source heat.

This investment is the largest of its kind in the UK’s private sector to date and will help the industry keep pace with the UK Government’s target of 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028.

Rendesco is looking to significantly scale access to ground source heat amongst new build developers to help them comply with the Future Homes Standard. Set to come into force by 2025, the Standard will require all new build properties to be fitted with low-carbon heating technologies – predominantly heat pumps – in the move away from natural gas boilers. Rendesco’s highly scalable solution for decarbonising heat using ground source technology offers a viable and effective route to help the country decarbonise its housing stock.

In this funding commitment we are proud to be setting the standard for UK private sector investment in clean heat networks. Our pipeline demonstrates the fantastic progress with our Last Mile Heat joint venture and means we can offer our clean heat solutions to even more house builders.
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Rather than burning fuel, Rendesco’s systems take the heat from boreholes – which extend just below the surface of the earth – and transfer it to homes via concealed pipework. The only noticeable difference for households is their boiler is swapped for a ground source heat pump. This can either involve a large central heat pump heating a number of homes in a single development, or smaller heat pumps being fitted to individual homes. Efficiencies are magnified at scale through Rendesco’s solutions, typically saving 18 tonnes of CO2 per property compared to gas boilers and three tonnes of CO2 compared to an air-source heat pump.

Rendesco’s new build home solutions are owned by Last Mile Heat, enabling house builders to install ground source heat solutions in their developments at a considerably lower cost than through mainstream channels. The approach also reduces the installation cost for households and significantly improves the energy efficiency of homes, saving money on energy bills.‍

The clean heat developer owns a portfolio of ground source networks which became operational over 2015-2020. It currently provides heat to more than 3,000 homes in the UK and has live projects underway to provide its low-carbon heating solutions to over 800 more new build homes. Last Mile Heat, a joint venture between Rendesco and Last Mile Infrastructure1, aims to provide ground source heat infrastructure to residential and commercial property developers across the UK, making clean heat far more accessible. There are around 300,000 new residential properties built each year.

Alastair Murray, Founder & CEO, commented:

“In this funding commitment we are proud to be setting the standard for UK private sector investment in clean heat networks. Our pipeline demonstrates the fantastic progress with our Last Mile Heat joint venture and means we can offer our clean heat solutions to even more house builders. The UK’s clean heat market needs greater innovation – and quickly – if we are to effectively decarbonise the country’s homes and buildings. This is where Rendesco’s solutions come in, providing low-cost, low-carbon options for house builders, and ultimately householders, to power their homes with clean heat.”

Mike Pearce, Chief Executive Officer of Last Mile, added:

“As an already established and trusted utility infrastructure partner of house builders across Great Britain, we are delighted that Last Mile Heat has put us at the forefront of providing clean heat solutions to the next generation of Britain’s homes. The UK ground source heat connections market is growing rapidly with ground source heat being a highly sustainable and affordable solution for new build projects, for developers and residents alike.”