Liverpool turns to water-source heat pumps • Waste heat to power Bermondsey • Hull City Council secures £27m loan for district heating network • Read more about the developments in sustainable heating and cooling in this month's news update from the UK
In a move for urban decarbonisation, three of Liverpool’s waterfront landmarks, the Georges Dock Building, the Cunard Building, and the Museum of Liverpool, are set to join a pioneering low-carbon heat network powered by canal water. The scheme, led by Peel Group through its Mersey Heat network, uses water-source heat pumps to harness renewable energy from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, significantly cutting carbon emissions across the city’s historic waterfront.
The newly launched Mersey Heat Energy Centre is already supplying the Liverpool Waters development, the Titanic Hotel, the Tobacco Warehouse apartments, and the Hartley Locks residential development. By expanding the network to connect these landmark public buildings, the project underscores Liverpool’s commitment to sustainable energy and the decarbonisation of public infrastructure.
The initiative forms part of the Liverpool City Region’s five-year Carbon Action Plan, which aims to achieve net zero by 2035. The Combined Authority recently secured £35 million in funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to extend similar decarbonisation measures to dozens of other public buildings, including historic town halls, libraries, galleries, and leisure centres.
With public buildings accounting for around 13% of the region’s total emissions, projects like Mersey Heat demonstrate how large-scale infrastructure can deliver both environmental and economic benefits – while supporting the UK’s Net Zero targets.
Read more in article from Invest Liverpool
Veolia has announced a major expansion of its London district heating network, supplying low-carbon heat to over 1.600 additional homes in Bermondsey. The project, powered by waste energy from the South-East London Combined Heat and Power (SELCHP) facility in Lewisham, emphasises the growing role of energy recovery in decarbonising urban heat supply across London.
Under a 25-year partnership with real estate company Greystar, Veolia will design, build, and operate a new network a 75°C heat distribution network serving six apartment blocks within Greystar’s Bermondsey development. Once operational in May 2026, the scheme is expected to save around 1.524 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
The network expansion is part of a broader trend of integrating waste heat into London’s sustainable energy strategy. The Greater London Authority’s Waste Heat Study has identified multiple Energy-from-Waste (EfW) plants key contributors to future heat network expansions, with projects like Cory’s Riverside 1 in Bexley and the Old Oak and Park Royal Energy Network (OPEN), already in the pipeline.
Read more in article from Let’s Recycle
Hull City Council has secured a £27 million loan from the UK’s National Wealth Fund to accelerate development of its low-carbon district heating network. The Hull District Heat Network (HDHN), one of the largest local authority-led heat networks in the UK, marks a significant step in the city’s mission to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and net zero by 2045.
The funding forms part of a wider investment package that includes a £15 million grant from the Green Heat Network Fund and £1.5 million from the Levelling Up Partnership. Together, these investments will finance the design, construction, and operation of a new energy centre and a network of underground pipes delivering renewable heat to council offices, schools, housing developments, and commercial estates.
Vital Energi will lead the construction, operation, and maintenance of the network, which will be powered by heat pumps located in the city centre energy hub. As the second local authority heat network to be backed by the National Wealth Fund, HDHN demonstrates the growing importance of public-sector-led heat infrastructure in achieving the UK’s decarbonisation goals. The project not only cuts emissions but also channels financial returns back into the local council budget.
Read more in article from The Business Desk
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