Inaugural Anglo-Swedish Heating Days in London • UK Government allocates £57 Million to heat network projects • Pilot project launched to build the UK's first Energy-from-Waste carbon capture facility • Read more about the developments in sustainable heating and cooling in this month's news update from the UK
Last week, Sustainable Heating & Cooling by Sweden (SHC by Sweden), in partnership with the Swedish Energy Agency, Business Sweden, and the Swedish Embassy in London, hosted the first-ever Anglo-Swedish Heating Days. This two-day event brought Swedish industry leaders to the UK to showcase sustainable heating solutions, aiming to support the green transition and strengthen collaboration in the expansion of low-carbon heat networks across the country.
The event featured informative site visits to two significant heat network projects in London: Metropolitan Energy’s Wembley Park development and E.ON UK’s Ectogrid development in Silvertown. These projects illustrate the UK’s advancements in low-carbon heating ambitions, aligning with Sweden’s decades-long commitment to heat networks and heat pump technologies.
Attendees had the pleasure of listening to industry leaders in two keynote presentations. Cantor Mocke from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero discussed the future of the UK’s heat networks market, while Sofie Fjellgren from the Swedish Energy Agency shared insights on Sweden’s journey to decarbonise its heating sector. Both speakers highlighted the need for continued investment, collaboration, and innovation to achieve national and international climate targets.
The conference also included four panel discussions on essential themes: the future energy system, recovered heat, regulatory pathways, and the role of public-private partnerships in unlocking critical investment.
The event highlighted the value of Anglo-Swedish cooperation in driving the transition to low-carbon heating. SHC by Sweden and its partners plan to build on the success of this initiative through future collaborations in both the UK and Sweden, advancing shared goals for a sustainable and resilient energy future.
In a major boost to the UK’s low-carbon heating industry, the national government has allocated £57 million from the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) to support five heat network projects across London and Northern England. The funding aims to provide more than 17.000 properties with access to sustainable heating solutions, reducing reliance on fossil-fuel boilers and supporting the UK to achieve its carbon reduction targets.
Among the projects, Leeds will receive £24.5 million to expand its LeedsPIPES network, incorporating heat captured from a local Energy-from-Waste plant. The extension will add 28 buildings to the network, providing low-carbon heating to over 8.000 residents and creating 81 new jobs in addition to the 400 positions already supported by the project.
In Barnsley, £12.6 million in government funding, alongside £32.3 million from the private sector, will enable the construction of a district heating network powered by a combination of air-source heat pumps, mine water, and industrial waste heat. Scheduled to begin in early 2025, this initiative will connect offices, council buildings, and homes in the city centre.
London projects include:
These initiatives are part of a broader UK strategy to support urban heat networks, which, according to GHNF Programme Director Ken Hunnisett, demonstrate the potential of district heating in urban environments. However, significant funding, up to £80 billion by 2050, is estimated to be necessary to expand heat networks across the UK at a sufficient scale.
The GHNF was established to replace the Heat Networks Investment Project and will provide £270 million in funding through 2028. This support coincides with the Future Homes Standard, which requires low-carbon heating for new homes starting next year.
Read more in article from Edie
In a significant step toward decarbonising waste management, UK energy company Enfinium has launched the nation’s first carbon capture pilot specifically aimed at the energy-from-waste sector. This pilot, now operating at enfinium’s Ferrybridge-1 facility in Knottingley, West Yorkshire, marks a pioneering move in the deployment of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology for capturing emissions from waste-to-energy processes.
The pilot is part of enfinium’s wider plan to integrate CCS technology across its six UK energy-from-waste sites, utilizing a containerised system from Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI). This initial project aims to capture one tonne of CO₂ per day, a small-scale operation designed to evaluate key metrics over a 12-month period. Successful results could support the rollout of similar systems across all enfinium plants, helping to create a scalable model for CCS within the energy-from-waste sector.
Beyond its immediate climate benefits, CCS in waste-to-energy operations is expected to generate “negative emissions.” This means capturing emissions from organic waste, such as food and paper, which has naturally absorbed significant amounts of carbon dioxide pre-harvest, leading to a net reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), carbon capture will account for 1% of global energy-related emissions reductions by 2030, growing to as much as 5% by 2050. This pilot will contribute to the UK’s goals of capturing 20-30 million tonnes of CO₂ annually by 2030, as set out by the UK government. With the backing of an estimated £1.7 billion in funding for its CCS initiatives, enfinium aims to eliminate up to 1.2 million tonnes of CO₂ annually across its facilities by the 2030s.
Read more in article from Edie
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