Veolia has announced that it has a GBP 1bn pipeline of projects that are due to be awarded by 2030, as part of the UK deployment of a new “Ecothermal Grid” offering in the UK. It’s in line with the company’s ambitions to grow its district heating presence further in the UK, using a mix of different sources of energy to deliver carbon-neutral heating and cooling.
Currently in the UK, heat in buildings (heating up space, industrial heating and providing hot water) makes up over a third (37%) of the UK’s CO2 emissions and with the government’s ambitious need to reduce carbon, innovative and green solutions to heat homes are critical.
As of 2024, only around 3% of UK heat demand is met by district heating networks, however the Government target is for this to reach 20% by the year 2050 to support national decarbonisation goals. With this target set, the UK’s need for new district heating projects has never been stronger and the potential market value for district heating networks in the country is around GBP 80bn.