Ideal gets go-ahead for £12.5m R&D facility
14th August 2023
UK: Construction of Ideal Heating’s new £12.5m R&D facility will begin in October, following the heat pump manufacturer being granted full planning permission by Hull City Council.
The R&D facility at the company’s Hull headquarters will create a testbed for product development and advancements in the heating solutions to help decarbonise UK homes and business premises.
The 3,500m2 facility is due be completed in late 2024 and operational in early 2025.
“Our UK Technology Centre is part of a major £60m investment we’re making in our Hull site, to support heat pump manufacturing, distribution and innovation in heating technologies,” explained Ideal Heating engineering director Helen Villamuera.
“We’re delighted to have secured full planning permission for the UK Technology Centre. We will now begin a competitive tender process to appoint a contractor to deliver this project.”
The two-storey building, with an additional partial storey to accommodate plant rooms for the centre, will help to develop and refine the low carbon heating technologies, including heat pumps, needed to decarbonise UK’s 25 million homes.
Laboratory facilities within the building will enable Ideal Heating’s R&D team to simulate a range of scenarios and conditions to test new innovations and advancements. The centre will also house environmental chambers, a heat pump testing area, workshop spaces and a training room.
In designing the building, Ideal Heating has practiced what it preaches. The R&D facility will feature roof-mounted solar panels, air source heat pumps, LED lighting and controls.
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