‘Businesses like Kensa will play a big part in developing the heat pump manufacturing industry in the UK’ says Energy and Climate Change Minister Lord Callanan after taking company’s virtual street tour
Energy and Climate Change Minister Lord Callanan was taken on a virtual tour of a Glaswegian street featuring pioneering ground source heat pumps from Kensa – the British company ready to help replace the UK’s current gas grid with renewable heating.
Lord Callanan took time out during the Cities, Regions and Built Environment Day at COP26 on Thursday to visit the Green Zone stand of Kensa Heat Pumps – the only heating appliance on display at COP26.
During the meeting Lord Callanan met with James Standley, Managing Director, Kensa Heat Pumps and Karl Drage, Director of Business Development, Kensa Group, to hear the innovative company’s vision and solution for decarbonising heat, as featured throughout the conference and awarded UK Climate Innovation at the Ashden Awards during COP26.
The Government has pledged 600,000 new heat pumps will be installed every year by 2028 as part of a bid to phase out gas boilers and reduce household greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
Above: Lord Callanan (centre) watches Kensa’s Green Street augmented reality experience (graphics superimposed) which allows a virtual tour of decarbonised Green Street in Glasgow in the company of James Standley, Managing Director, Kensa Heat Pumps (right) and Karl Drage, Director of Business Development, Kensa Group (left) during a meeting at COP26 on Thursday.
Rather than just funding boiler replacements on a house-by-house basis, Kensa believes it can help hit the target through its large, networked solution that mimics and replaces the current gas grid, with individual ground source heat pumps including its compact Shoebox ground source heat pump, in each dwelling connected to an ambient shared ground loop array.
And during his visit, Lord Callanan, who is playing a leading role in the government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy and path to net zero, used a computer tablet to experience Kensa’s Green Street augmented reality experience, created especially for the conference in just eight weeks with Emmy-award winning Atlantic Productions.
Lord Callanan was taken on the virtual tour of decarbonised Green Street in Glasgow, a real street in the shadow of the conference, which in the AR is heated through networked ground source heat pumps.
He was also interested to hear that Kensa was installing ground source heat pumps back in his native North East with several tower blocks in Newcastle benefiting from the pioneering approach.
Lord Callanan said:
Our landmark Heat and Buildings Strategy sets out how heat pumps will be a key technology for the UK as we look to decarbonise our homes and businesses while reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.
Businesses like Kensa will play a big part in developing the heat pump manufacturing industry in the UK, so it is fantastic to see their work being showcased at COP26 to a global audience.
Kensa’s underground network connects whole streets and communities to a local heat source that uses the natural heat in the ground or waste heat. The model allows consumers to easily and cheaply change to ground source heat pumps from carbon intensive fossil fuel boilers when they’re ready to transition. More than 2,600 properties are now heated using Kensa’s innovative approach to district heating, from streets of houses to tower blocks.
James Standley, Managing Director of Kensa Heat Pumps, said it was humbling that Lord Callanan took time out of his busy schedule to meet with Kensa.
It was great to be able to demonstrate our solution and show him the AR. Our virtual Green Street proves any street can be a Green Street, by showing how the ground beneath our feet can transform how we heat and power our homes and accelerate progress on climate change through the lowest carbon, cost and electrical grid compact solution.
We spoke about costs and cost reduction and discussed a current project involving tower blocks in Newcastle which was nice as it where he is from.
Above: James Standley, Managing Director, Kensa Heat Pumps, Climate Change Minister Lord Callanan and Karl Drage, Director of Business Development, Kensa Group during a meeting at COP26 on Thursday.
Kensa’s eco-friendly networked heat pumps plan and innovative work to date has this month seen the company win three coveted awards – the Environment Project Award at the Cornwall Manufacturing Awards, Planet Saver Award at the British Chambers of Commerce regional awards, and the Ashden Award for UK Climate Innovation at COP26 where Kensa were one of nine pioneering low carbon organisations recognised from around the world.
At COP26 (on Thursday 11 November) the Government announced a new multi-million UK Urban Climate Action Programme to support cities and regions in developing countries most impacted by climate change to accelerate their transition to net zero.
Backed with £27.5 million of new UK government funding as part of the UK’s International Climate Finance commitment, the programme will support cities across Africa, Asia and Latin America to take action to tackle climate change and create a sustainable future, by helping them to become carbon neutral by 2050 and prepare low-carbon infrastructure projects.
Lord Callanan said:
From our homes and workplaces to our towns and cities, the buildings we live in are a fundamental part of our daily lives, but also a significant source of global emissions.
That’s why at COP26 today we are calling on cities, regions, governments and businesses to seize the moment and set bold net-zero targets as we work together as a global community to end our contribution to climate change.
To experience Green Street please visit www.welcometogreenstreet.com
