The University of East London (UEL) is extending its strategic partnership with Siemens Smart Infrastructure in a contract that will see the business design and install a Water Source Heat Pump (WSHP) to help power its net zero campus of the future. The new WSHP is set to be the largest fitted at any university in the UK and will power the university’s Docklands Campus Library and Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability buildings.
Submerged in the River Thames, the closed-loop system will use a series of pipes to extract natural heat from the water in the Royal Albert Docks, providing a cost-effective heating system which will reduce annual CO₂ emissions by 258 tons without removing vast quantities of water from the river. The system is scalable to allow the university to extend in the future similar heat pump systems across the Campus and the wider Docks, which is the only Enterprise Zone in London. The project is part of a long-term partnership with Siemens, supporting the university’s transition to net zero by 2030.