Kensa receives £70m heat pump investment
16th May 2023
UK: Green energy supplier Octopus Energy and investment company Legal & General Capital are investing £70m in UK ground-source heat pump manufacturer the Kensa Group.
This marks the biggest investment ever made in ground-source technology in Britain. It will allow Kensa to rapidly expand and install 50,000 ground source heat pumps a year by 2030 and create 7,000+ green jobs.
The move is expected to drive down costs of heat pumps in the UK, which is targeting 600,000 heat pump installations a year by 2028.
The companies involved insist that the investment will make heat pumps even more accessible to more properties, including retrofits for social housing, terraced housing and non-domestic buildings.
Finance will also be provided for Kensa to offer house builders, housing associations and non-domestic customers their Networked Heat Pumps solution – described as a model similar to the current gas network – at a lower cost.
“Backing Kensa will help rapidly expand Britain’s fast-growing ground source heat pump industry. This deal is a huge milestone for our exciting new energy transition fund, as we invest in ambitious companies rolling out tech to turbocharge the clean energy shift,” said Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation.
Dr Matthew Trewhella, CEO of The Kensa Group, described the deal as “a monumental moment” for ground source heat pumps. “This investment will help unlock Kensa’s vision of a mass transition to low carbon heating by replacing the gas grid with its 21st-century equivalent – an ambient temperature heat network.
“Our approach harnesses the power of investment capital funding infrastructure, reduces the strain on our electricity grid and enables a just transition – keeping heating costs low and addressing fuel poverty simultaneously with climate change mitigation.”
Legal & General Capital has previously invested £15.7m in Kensa since 2020.
The deal also marks Octopus Energy Group’s entry into the ground source heat pump market, complementing the company’s existing air source heat pump expertise and building on its recent £10m investment in a heat pump R&D centre in Slough.
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