Victorian gasworks turned into heat pump network

A Victorian gasworks has been turned into a £75m heat pump network that will supply warmth to courts, council buildings, a university and a college.

The Bradford Heat Network, in Thornton Road, which began operating earlier, uses air source heat pumps to warm water, which is then run through underground pipes to customers.

Developed by low-carbon heat network developer 1Energy, the project will eventually use waste heat from a planned 5.6-megawatt data centre on Thornton Road, and is expected to cut carbon emissions for the companies that use it by at least 75%.

John Hartley, CEO of 1Energy, said the project would put Bradford at the forefront of modern energy infrastructure.

"This is one of the biggest air source heat pumps in the UK and it is state of the art in terms of its efficiency model," he said.

"It's able to serve historic buildings and new builds. So one of our first customers was the City Hall and we're talking to people who are building new developments."

At the site engineers are able to generate and store heat, meaning it can be discharged "when they city needs it", he explained.

"It allows us to control when we generate heat based on when the prices are low, when the carbon impact is low, and that's a way of Bradford centralising and taking control of its own heat production."

Bradford City Hall, the courts building, the University of Bradford and Bradford College are among the sites that will use the network, which carries heat across Bradford via a 5km (3 mile) network of underground insulated pipes.

According to 1Energy, the project can also incorporate additional local heat sources as it grows, such as surplus heat from businesses.

Explaining how the network will recycle heat from the planned data centre, Hartley said: "Data centres generate lots of heat they have to get rid of and that for them is a cost.

"We can take that heat for free – which helps them because they get rid of that cost – and it helps us lower our cost of production", he said.

Operations director Bhavya Patel said it was a great example of how data centres and heat networks "can deliver a sustainable future for a city".

"There's a real opportunity here from Bradford's perspective because the waste heat, rather than being rejected up in the air, can be directly taken up by the neighbouring heating plant room and hence the sustainability impact is really high," he said.

The project has been funded with £55m of private capital and £20m of government investment through the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF).

A further £9.7m in GHNF funding has been secured to expand the network.

Deputy leader of Bradford Council Andrew Judson said the plans strengthened the city's offer to businesses and developers.

"It is an achievement the whole city can be proud of, showing how Bradford is leading the way in building a more resilient local economy.

"By reducing reliance on imported gas and improving air quality, the network will bring lasting benefits for local people.

"As it grows, it can support more businesses and buildings, providing infrastructure that helps Bradford attract further investment and thrive."

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