Two EDF Energy-led projects have been awarded grant funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) under its £60 million Heat Pump Ready Programme.
The programme supports the development and demonstration of heat pump technologies, tools and solutions for optimised deployment of heat pumps. This makes up part of the BEIS’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP).
The programme also supports the government’s £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme which aims to increase the installation rate of low-carbon heating technologies such as heat pumps via grants of £5,000 from April 2022.
The first of EDF’s projects to receive funding is dubbed Neighbourhood Heat Pump. This is being delivered via a consortium led by EDF, including Kensa Utilities, Devon County Council, Enzen, Urbanomy, Sheffield University and UCL, as part of Stream 1 of Heat Pump Ready.
The project will offer customers the opportunity to share a ground source heat pump loop with neighbours, allowing customers to reduce the cost of installing heat pumps, reduce carbon emissions and improve the energy efficiency of their homes. The initial trial will take place in the Teignmouth area in South Devon.
The second project is the One-stop Heat Pump App, which will guide customers through the heat pump process, providing detailed technical support before, during and after the installation. This could make the process of installing heat pumps simpler.
EDF will be supported in this by consortium partners including Daikin, Scottish Power Energy Networks, RES Distribution and the University of Sheffield.
“This marks an exciting new chapter for heat pump deployment in the UK. These two innovative projects will accelerate the country’s road to net zero, while providing customers with vital support as they decarbonise their heating in a cost-efficient way,” said Patrick Dupeyrat, director of EDF UK R&D.
In late September, the UK Government allocated £15 million in funding to 24 projects aiming to reduce the cost and difficulties in installing heat pumps. The additional capital would support the deployment of low-carbon heating technology and support the target of installing 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028.
Despite the progress and allocation of funds to boiler upgrades, a recent survey from the Ground Source Heat Pump Association (GSHPA), found that the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme is yet to deliver increased demand for heat pumps.
Alongside this, a report commissioned by Greenpeace UK recently found that governmental targets for energy saving upgrades are “woefully off track” with 2020 heat pump sales per household the lowest in Europe.
