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Investment supports acquisition of Gloucestershire Science and Technology Park, advancing Vital Energi’s £1bn+ investment pipeline and asset growth strategy

Sustainable energy solutions company Vital Energi has made a strategic investment in Chiltern Vital Group (CVG), significantly expanding its capability to own and operate energy generation and storage assets to feed into networks at scale.

This strategic move is part of Vital Energi’s ambitious £1bn+ investment pipeline, aimed at significantly expanding its portfolio of sustainable energy assets and reinforcing its position as a key player in the UK’s transition to a low-carbon future. The investment in CVG, coupled with CVG’s purchase of the Gloucestershire Science and Technology Park in Berkeley, marks a major milestone in Vital Energi’s asset ownership journey.

The 40-acre Berkeley site, formerly an active power plant until 1989, will be transformed into a hub for research, education, and innovation in sustainable energy technologies, with a focus on large-scale energy networks. The site has a rich history as one of the world’s first civil nuclear power stations, with an adjoining nuclear research laboratory that played a key role in developing the UK’s nuclear fuel programme.

Vital Energi plans to collaborate with leading educational institutions to foster skills development in the sector, ensuring long-term, high-value employment opportunities amounting to hundreds of regional jobs for the local community. Key partners in this endeavour include the University of Bristol, the National College for Nuclear, Berkeley Green University Technical College (UTC), and SGS College. By combining cutting-edge research with practical skills training, Vital Energi aims to create a talent pipeline that will drive innovation in energy network solutions for years to come.

The site is earmarked for the development of small modular reactors (SMRs), with companies like Rolls-Royce SMR expressing interest in locating their operations at Berkeley. This aligns with the UK government’s plans to advance nuclear energy technology and combat climate change.

Chris Turner, CEO of Chiltern Vital Group, added:

“Vital Energi’s expertise in energy infrastructure, combined with the company’s investment, adds tremendous value to this project. Together, we will drive forward the development and implementation of large-scale energy networks. We anticipate this collaboration will have significant positive impacts on both the local and national economy, establishing new standards for energy distribution and efficiency.”

Vital Energi have always believed in the importance of being a complete solution provider to clients by having the capability to deliver services, products and technologies that fully meet their needs, and have now invested in a new specialist team to support the rapid growth of the heat pump market.

Heat pumps will play a key role in the UK’s transition to net zero and it’s expected that the number of heat pump installations will increase from 55,000 a year to 600,000 a year by 2028.

The new team will enhance Vital Energi’s in-house expertise, enabling them to remain at the forefront of design, specification and implementation of energy solutions which include heat pumps.

Ashley Malin, Vital Energi’s Managing Director (Solutions), said:

“The energy market is changing at pace, and through strengthening our in-house expertise, we’re demonstrating our market-leading capability and ensuring we can meet the needs of our customers in an agile manner. The addition of the new team not only enhances our heat pump capability, but ensures we have the right skills to create energy infrastructure for our future.”

The talented team of 10 experts with over 140 years of combined experience in the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump (RACHP) sector bring with them unparalleled expertise in thermodynamics, vapour compression, heat exchange, system modelling, and software programming, as well as field service and commissioning.

The team is led by Engineering Director, Chris Green, and Technical Director, Patrick Knight.

As well as lending their expertise to the asset management and ongoing performance optimisation of Vital Energi’s existing ground, water, and air source heat pump installations, continued investment in R&D will ensure that Vital Energi remain at the forefront of the heat pump market, providing the best energy solutions to clients using next generation heat pump technology.

The design stage is crucial for a successful construction project, and Vital Energi are delighted to offer a complete design process across all RIBA stages to help organisations achieve their energy ambitions.

By influencing key decisions made early on in the design process, the team at Vital ensure buildings are designed in an optimum way by working alongside M&E consultants, sustainability consultants, structural engineers, and architects, to ensure clients benefit from design efficiency from the beginning.

Vital have recently been working with one of the UK’s largest developers, Taylor Wimpey, on their Hepscott Road project in Hackney Wick, which comprises 145 apartments and 23,820 sq. ft of commercial space.

Early involvement in the project from RIBA Stage 2 has allowed Vital to work with the architects at the pre-planning stage, influencing key decisions and providing optimal support to Taylor Wimpey.

Spatial provisions, such as the location of HIUs and utility cupboards, rooftop plant areas, riser sizes, ceiling void depths, and energy centre plant areas have been determined. These key considerations provide the architect with valuable information to ensure the building works get the best out of the heat network.

Elliott Sharpe, Vital Energi’s Design Director, said:

“It’s great to be able to share the company’s experience from design, installation and operation of heat networks with the project design team and clients at such an early stage of a development. Not only does the professional team benefit, but so does the end customer through the creation of an efficient, low carbon heat supply.”

With over 30 years’ heat network experience, Vital Energi’s design team specialise in creating robust and creative energy generation, distribution and conservation solutions of all sizes for small to large scale projects across all sectors, and are proud to have developed schemes for over 83,000 properties and installed upward of 30,000 HIUs.

The Vital team can share their knowledge at any stage of the design process, however by RIBA Stage 4, many of the key decisions have already been made, some of which may be irreversible, such as defining the energy strategy, size and location of the energy centre, number and size of risers required, and the optimum district heating route. If the initial concept needs reworking, this can cause project delays, redesign work and additional cost.

Having a heat network specialist on board from the early stages also integrates Vital’s experience of installation, ESCo services, metering & billing, and operation & maintenance into the design from day one.

If you’re based in the South and would like to see your energy ambitions become reality, please contact Elliott at [email protected].

Vital Energi are delighted to have secured a contract with London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust to guarantee savings of £1.9m a year and significantly reduce carbon emissions at Northwick Park Hospital. 

The 15-year performance-based contract will see the implementation of a self-funding fully integrated energy solution, which includes the conversion from the existing steam heating system to a Low Temperature Hot Water (LTHW) distribution infrastructure. This will be supplied by a modern highly efficient gas fired combined heat and power unit, complete with a selective catalytic reduction system, LTHW boilers and solar photovoltaic arrays.

This solution is further enhanced via the introduction of an innovative combination of water and air sourced heat pumps and a battery energy storage system, which will help create a smart grid from which the local community will benefit, together with a range of Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) funded by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS).

Building on their extensive track record of delivering future-proof energy solutions within major acute hospital environments throughout the UK, Vital will deliver ECMs such as a 643kWp solar PV array on the roof, optimisation and upgrades to the existing Building Management System, pipework insulation, and the retrofit and upgrades of existing air handling units and chillers, all specifically designed to reduce the energy consumption and the overall carbon emissions of the Northwick Park Hospital.

The PSDS funding, which is administered by Salix on behalf of the Government’s Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), was secured through the combined efforts of the Trust and Vital Energi teams working together to submit a complex application within an extremely challenging timeframe.

Mark Trumper, Director of Estates & Facilities at the Trust, said:

“The financial savings and the eradication of high-risk backlog maintenance cannot be underestimated at an NHS Trust, however we are extremely proud to be part of a team that will save 2,500 tonnes of carbon every year in London.

“This was only deliverable through complete collaboration, an innovative commercial model to maximise value, and an expedited project delivery within a long-term partnering arrangement.”

The Project Development Team at Vital Energi  have a proven track record of successfully delivering highly complex and fully integrated energy solutions to both private and public sector customers throughout the UK, including site specific energy generation schemes similar to the solutions for Northwick Park hospital.

Vital Energi are delivering the project through the Carbon and Energy Fund Framework, which has been specifically created to facilitate energy infrastructure projects for public sector organisations.

We are delighted to congratulate two of our Net Zero apprentices who have been announced as finalists in this year’s BESA National Apprentice of the Year awards.

Aidan Whetham and Ibrahim Qadir  have both been announced as the only apprentices from their regions to be shortlisted in the national awards.

Jenny Jackson, Vital Energi’s Resources Manager explains, “These awards are extremely prestigious and very competitive, so we are delighted that both Ibrahim and Aidan have made the 8-person shortlist and we wish them, and all the other talented finalists, every success.”

Both Apprentices have enrolled on Vital Energi’s Net Zero Apprenticeship  and are currently taking their Building Services Technician Apprenticeship in partnership with the City of Liverpool College.

Jenny Jackson continues, “The Net Zero sector faces a severe skills gap and our apprenticeship programme was designed to find, support, develop and retain the talented and enthusiastic individuals who will lead us to our net zero targets.  We certainly feel that Ibrahim and Aidan will make a huge contribution to the green energy sector over the course of their careers and we’re delighted their hard work and dedication have been recognised by BESA.

Both apprentices will now head down to an awards ceremony in London in early October where the winner of the National Technical/Project Engineer of the year will be announced.

We would like to congratulate two of our clients on the news that they have been recognised at two of the UK’s most prestigious awards ceremonies.

Westminster City Council have undertaken a £13m energy reduction project which has seen them install measures such as solar PV, heat pumps and lighting upgrades across their estate and, overall, improvements have been made to 61 buildings, with the work generating well over 1,600 tonnes of carbon reduction per year.

It is an ambitious project which will play a large part in Westminster City Council reaching their net zero targets, so it was a fantastic achievement when they were recognised at the Energy Savings Awards, winning the Public Sector Project of the Year category for their carbon management programme.

Our second clients to be singled out for their decarbonisation work are Bristol City Council and Goram Homes who took home two awards at the Bristol Property Awards.

The first prize of the evening saw the 3MW water source heat pump and energy centre scoop the Best Sustainability Category, with the judges commending its innovative approach.  This was another big boost to the project’s environmental credentials and can be added to the European Heat Pump Association award it won earlier in the year.

The second award saw the panel of judges name Castle Park as the “Winner of Winners”, beating 18 other award-winning projects and organisations.  This was the highest awards of the night and a fantastic achievement for the project, and everyone involved.

Castle Park is largest water source heat pump in England, which takes heat from the nearby harbour and uses it to heat homes and businesses by pumping it into the Bristol Heat Network.  The project saw the construction of a purpose-built energy centre as well as the abstraction and injection equipment which takes the water from the harbour and returns it once the heat has been extracted.

Westminster City Council had more awards success in November, after being Highly Commended in the HVAC Project of the Year category of the H&V Awards and at the same event, Swansea Bay University Health Board was Highly Commended in the Net Zero Impact category for their decarbonisation work which included installing a range of energy conservation measures and building the UK’s first solar farm dedicated to supplying an NHS hospital.

Please join us in congratulating our fantastic clients who are working hard to help the UK meet its decarbonisation targets.