Rendesco raises £6mn to replace gas grids with low-carbon heat

Rendesco, a clean heat network developer, has secured £6mn ($7.66mn) in funding to advance low-carbon heating alternatives to traditional gas grid infrastructure in the UK, it said on June 13.

This investment round was spearheaded by Clean Growth Fund, Eurazeo’s Smart City fund, and Aviva Ventures, and includes existing investor Copley Point Capital.

Addressing the significant challenge of decarbonising heat in buildings, Rendesco aims to help households cut energy bills and reduce CO₂ emissions by over 100,000 tonnes/year through its low-carbon heat networks. This initiative aligns with the UK's forthcoming decarbonisation regulations, such as the Future Homes Standard, which will ban gas boilers in new homes from 2025. Similar policies are being implemented across Europe to promote decarbonisation.

Rendesco collaborates with prominent UK property developers like Cala Homes and Telford Homes to design and install ground source heat networks, which supply clean heat and hot water to 8,115 homes across the UK. This new investment will be used to enhance the efficiency and affordability of Rendesco’s heat networks, enabling broader deployment compared to air source heat pumps, it said.

The company also operates a joint venture with Last Mile Infrastructure called Last Mile Heat, which owns Rendesco’s solutions for new homes. This venture has already established a £150mn pipeline for clean heat infrastructure, making ground source heat solutions more affordable for house builders.

Noteworthy is Rendesco’s project at Welborne Garden village, where it is developing the UK’s largest water-source heat network, serving 6,000 new homes.

With its business already profitable, the additional capital will support Rendesco in expanding its projects and achieving its goal of replacing gas heating with clean heat networks, thereby significantly cutting carbon emissions from heating in the UK and Europe, the company stated.