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The Leeds PIPES project has become one of the fastest expanding heat networks in the UK and the scheme is set to grow further with St James’s Hospital, Quarry House and Trinity Academy all announcing plans to connect to the network as part of Phase 3 works.

The project has already seen 26.5km of district heating pipework installed across Leeds during the first two phases of work and phase 3 will see an additional 2km installed.

The heat network distributes low-carbon heat from the nearby Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility (RERF), and delivers it to local residents, businesses and civic buildings.  The scheme already delivers significant carbon savings each year, and this is set to increase with the addition of the 3 new major connections.

Mike Cooke, Managing Director for North and Scotland at Vital Energi, said:

“Leeds PIPES is one of the most exciting heat networks in the UK.  Leeds City Council have demonstrated that cities can deliver massive, rapid decarbonisation as a way of meeting their climate emergency targets and this expansion will allow more organisations to utilise low-carbon heat, increase the efficiency of the network and deliver further carbon reductions.

“Whilst the carbon savings are of massive importance, its contribution towards fighting fuel poverty can’t be overstated as Leeds City Council can now offer 1,983 homes more affordable heat and hot water.”

In addition to delivering strong environmental benefits the Leeds PIPES project has supported 430 local, low-carbon sector jobs and 36 apprenticeships and continued safely throughout the pandemic.

This will be the third time Vital Energi has worked with St James’s Hospital to deliver a carbon reduction project after previously delivering an upgrade to their energy centre and, more recently, installing a range of energy conservation and generation measures, such as air and water source heat pumps, to lower their carbon further.

Martha Hart, Project Lead, Arup, said:

“We are thrilled that the second phase of the Leeds PIPES project is now complete, bringing affordable, low-carbon heat to homes and businesses across the city and Leeds another step closer to carbon neutrality by 2030.”

We’re delighted that Leeds PIPES project has successfully been shortlisted at the inaugural Unlock Net Zero Awards for ‘Collaboration of the Year – energy projects’ category.

The awards recognise and champion progress on the housing sector’s decarbonisation journey and the supply chain that supports it. Leeds PIPES is one of only six projects shortlisted in the category and the winner will be announced at the awards ceremony, taking place alongside Housing 2023 on Tuesday 27 June at Manchester Central.

The success of the project results from a true partnership approach with Leeds City Council, Ener-vate and ourselves, combining our joint expertise and knowledge to create one of the UK’s major heat networks.

Leeds PIPES is a £49million project to transform the lives of residents and communities by reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality and tackling high rates of fuel poverty. The success of the project so far has been made possible through a collaborative approach combining our joint expertise and knowledge to create one of the UK’s major heat networks.

The multi-phase scheme takes heat from the nearby Recycling & Energy Recovery Facility converting energy from non-recyclable household waste into affordable, reliable, and low carbon heat and hot water. This is then distributed to a range of buildings across the city.

In addition to this award shortlist, Leeds PIPES heat network has been awarded prestigious awards from ADE and Heating & Ventilation Awards.

Katie White OBE MP, Minister for Climate, visits the 30km Leeds PIPES Heat Network, which has grown over 7 years to connect 4,100 homes and businesses, driving down both energy prices and carbon emissions.

Katie White OBE MP, Minister for Climate, recently toured the award-winning Leeds PIPES heat network, visiting key sites across the city to explore how the scheme has delivered outstanding decarbonisation and financial savings whilst acting as a catalyst for green job creation, skills development, and social value initiatives.

Her visit included stops at key buildings connected to the heat network, including Leeds Civic Hall and Leeds Beckett University, where she heard how connecting to the heat network reduced their carbon emissions by approximately 500 tonnes per year, whilst reducing energy costs by around £250,000 per year.

The tour then moved on to the Cross Green Energy Centre, which takes excess heat from the nearby Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility (RERF). The tour showcased the technologies and processes that convert waste heat into usable, low-temperature hot water and distributes it throughout the city.

Climate Minister Katie White said: “Leeds PIPES is a shining example of how local leadership and innovation can deliver real progress on the path to net zero.

The Minister was joined on her visit by Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds Central and Headingley.  Also in attendance was a delegation from Vital Energi including Ian Whitelock – CEO, Mike Cooke – Managing Director, Abby Whitelock – Marketing & Communications Director, and Mike Worrall – Project Director. Leeds City Council were represented by Joe Callin – Project Manager, Andrew Lingham – Senior Project Manager and Councillor Katie Dye – Chair of the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee.

Construction on the Leeds PIPES heat network began in 2018 and, to date, has seen 30km of heat network delivered throughout the city, connecting iconic buildings such as Leeds Town Hall and Leeds City Library & Art Gallery, as well as residential blocks and offices, with further expansion planned.

The Leeds PIPES heat network has been recognised as an international exemplar of a city-wide heating solution, following a visit by the Canadian-based Boltzmann Institute. The delegation attended as part of a pan-European “study tour”, to gain crucial insights to aid in the expansion of Canada’s low carbon energy infrastructure.

Leeds PIPES, one of the UK’s fastest growing, major heat networks provides homes, businesses and public buildings with affordable, reliable, low carbon heat and hot water through the use of recovered heat from a nearby Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility.
Being delivered by Vital Energi, in partnership with Leeds City Council and Ener-Vate, the scheme was responsible for a near 6,000 tonnes of carbon reduction in 2023 alone, and has delivered over 430 green jobs across the Leeds city region.
Its current customers include some of the city’s most notable organisations, including Leeds Playhouse, Leeds Beckett University and St James’s University Hospital.

Connecting over 2,300 homes and 28 key buildings across the city centre, the city-wide heating network has attracted national recognition, having recently won the “Energy Project of the Year – Residential” category at the prestigious Energy Awards in London.
The project is also making significant local impact through inspiring the next generation of heating and electric engineers, as well as aspiring design and construction professionals. 40 students from the Urban Energy Systems course at the University of Leeds also had the opportunity to tour the network in action and gain unique insights from senior staff at the organisation.
Representatives from The Boltzmann Institute visited energy facilities across eight countries in Europe in advance of their ambitious plans for district energy expansion across Canada, helping the country reach its goals for net zero emissions by 2050.

To find out more about the Leeds PIPES network, visit: https://www.leeds-pipes.co.uk/.

A new energy centre begins to take shape

Construction of the new energy centre at Trippett Street car park has begun, with steelworks now in place forming the framework of the building. The facility will house air source and water source heat pumps, delivering instant low carbon heat and hot water to council buildings, educational institutions, and private sector businesses. Once complete, the team will move on to the internal works of the structure, taking small steps toward this major initiative. In the future, the scheme plans to supply residential buildings as well.

Pipework progression across the city

In addition to the energy centre, approximately 5km of underground insulated pipework will be installed across some of Hull City Centre’s major streets and roads. Works have already commenced at various locations and are progressing well in line with the construction programme, whilst also ensuring access to businesses and buildings is maintained where possible. Once the network is fully installed and operational, these pipes will efficiently transfer heat generated at the energy centre to connected buildings.

Plans for the future

These groundworks are just the beginning of a project set to transform Hull’s energy landscape. During 2026, pipework will be installed underneath the River Hull, via the Drypool Bridge underground tunnel, which will connect to future opportunities.

We are working alongside other developers and experts to further enhance the scheme for the city of Hull.

Reaching the community

Above construction works, the project is also about the growth of Hull’s economy, with job creation, education and more. In the coming weeks, we will begin to see more of this commitment come into fruition through our collaboration with Hull College who will provide us with access to deliver learning opportunities, skills development and community engagement.

As part of the scheme, other commitments will include local school and college engagement, site visits for students, work experience placements, apprenticeship opportunities, and the use of local supply chain to name a few. The scheme is projected to save an estimated 110,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over the next 40 years; the equivalent of almost 1,900 cars being taken off the road each year. Through our partnership with Hull City Council, we endeavour to deliver a project that not only reduces carbon emissions and creates a greener, healthier environment, but also deliver a range of community benefits to the residents of Hull.

Three Net Zero office buildings at Princes Dock, Liverpool Waters, will become the first commercial office buildings in Liverpool to connect their heating and hot water supply to the new Mersey Heat network.

The multi-million-pound energy centre, currently under construction and set to complete in the autumn, will have the capacity to provide low carbon heat and hot water, through the Mersey Heat network, to thousands of homes and businesses around the city, reducing energy costs and their carbon footprint.

Businesses based at No. 8, No. 10, and No. 12 Princes Dock, which sit within Peel Waters’ growing Liverpool Waters district, have already been verified as Net Zero for three years running. The popular waterside office space will now also benefit from locally generated heat, through the district heat network and energy centre. This will make it the largest cluster of offices in Liverpool to provide this opportunity to its tenants.

The energy centre, which will be home to one of the UK’s largest water source heat pumps, will take heat from the water in the nearby Leeds/Liverpool Canal and use it to heat surrounding homes and businesses via a 6km district heating network.

Last year, renewable energy company, Vital Energi was appointed by Peel NRE to design and build the energy centre off Great Howard Street, which is expected to be complete by September 2024. Led by Peel NRE’s district heat network specialist, Ener-Vate, the Mersey Heat network is set to become a major part of Liverpool’s low carbon energy infrastructure.

The Mersey Heat network will reduce Liverpool’s reliance on fossil fuels and save 2,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year – the equivalent of taking 1,000 cars off the roads. The infrastructure will provide low carbon heat and hot water to thousands of homes and commercial space within Liverpool Waters as well as sustainably futureproofing future developments planned for the growing mixed-use district, as well as wider domestic and commercial buildings across Liverpool.

This initial phase of the project could supply 20GWh of heat every year with planning permission in place to expand the project to supply around 45GWh (the equivalent of supplying 17,000 new homes with heating and hot water).

Liverpool Waters is part of Peel Waters, a UK wide portfolio of vibrant and innovative, waterfront developments, delivering large-scale, sustainable regeneration projects, creating jobs, economic growth, new homes and new public realm across the country.

Lancaster University are transforming the way they heat their campus with a multimillion-pound decarbonisation project, which has just passed a major milestone with the completion of the 6.5km district heating network.

The heat network is made up of a series of highly insulated, underground pipework, which will distribute low-carbon heat across the campus, supplying approximately 250 buildings across the campus. Originally, the network supplied only 65% of the University’s buildings, but the new expansion will see that rise to 95%.

Scott Lutton, Regional Director for Vital Energi, explained, “The University has around 15,000 students, and we know how important protecting the environment and tackling climate change is to them. This project will allow the University to benefit from low-carbon heating every day.”

In addition to the completion of the heat network, the new Energy Centre 2 has seen strong progress with key areas like the external envelope, thermal stores and heat pumps now in place. Once complete, the mixture of water and air source heat pumps will be capable of creating 39-Giggawatt Hours of low-carbon heat and hot water.

This project is a core part of the University’s target to achieve net zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030. strengthening their position as leaders in sustainability.

Lancaster University are transforming the way they heat their campus with a multimillion decarbonisation project which has just passed a major milestone with the completion of the 6.5km district heating network.

The heat network is made up of a series of highly insulated, underground pipework which will distribute low-carbon heat across the campus, supplying approximately 250 buildings across the campus. Originally, the network supplied only 65% of the University’s buildings, but the new expansion will see that rise to 95%.

In addition to the completion of the heat network, the new Energy Centre 2 has seen strong progress with key areas like the external envelope, thermal stores and heat pumps now in place. Once complete, the mixture of water and air source heat pumps will be capable of creating 39-Giggawatt Hours of low-carbon heat and hot water.

This project is a core part of the University’s target to achieve net zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030. strengthening their position as leaders in sustainability.

Berkeley and Peabody are transforming the site of the former Arsenal Football Club home into a new, vibrant neighbourhood called Lombard Square, and the project recently completed a major green milestone.

The installation of the Phase 1 district heating network is now complete. This is a section of the district heating spine which has been installed up to the boundary of the Lombard Square development and will be connected to the heat network as part of the next phase.

When complete, the 17-acre development will be made up of 1,913 apartments, retail, commercial, community spaces and a biodiverse park, all served via 1km of district heating network.

The Vital Energi team installed the highly insulated district heating pipework which will serve a total of 8 blocks around the development.

Click here to read more about the project, where Vital Energi are also designing and building the Energy Centre that serves the whole development and are supporting Berkeley in reaching their sustainability goals through the installation of ground source heat pumps, which will extract water from aquifers below the surface via 140m deep boreholes.

Work is continuing to progress well at Northwick Park Hospital.

We’ve mechanically installed the water and air source heat pumps, electrical installation will follow, and we’re working hard to bring 647kWp of solar PV systems across 7 roof spaces to the commissioning phase.

The 2MW battery energy storage system has now been installed, which will maximise the use of onsite generation and help the hospital avoid import electricity at the most expensive times, as well as creating a smart grid from which the local community will benefit. We’re currently installing the HV supply connection and finishing the external finish to enclosure.

In addition, we’ve installed over 5000 new LED light fittings, completed the retrofit and upgrades of existing air handling units and chillers, and the pipework insulation upgrades, so the Trust will benefit from early financial savings and carbon reduction 8 months ahead of practical completion.​​​​​​​

The main energy centre build is progressing extremely well too, and all main items of plant have been delivered to site and are undergoing M&E installation.

Gary McKiernan, Head of Construction, said:

“Our site project team is working extremely well with our client and all supply chains to ensure that the construction phase of the project continues to progress at the pace required to meet key milestones in an efficient and safe manner. There are many challenges yet to come, but I have every faith that the team will embrace these to deliver on time as we head towards commissioning the systems during the spring.”

We’re delighted to be helping London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust on their net zero journey through a fully integrated, self-funding, multi technology energy solution, which will guarantee savings of £1.9m a year for the Trust and significantly reduce carbon emissions at Northwick Park Hospital.