The facility has been constructed on the site of the city’s former 19th-century gasworks. It is now cutting customers gas demand by 75 percent, at a time when 45 percent of the UK gas supply is imported, something that renders the country and its businesses highly exposed to volatile global markets.
Organisations that connect to the network can swap their dependence on foreign fuel for greater control, with home-grown energy helping bring bills back into British hands and protect against price hikes. As the project allows them to avoid replacing aging boilers, it can also save money on maintenance. The University of Bradford is projected to save tens of millions of pounds in such costs.
“For generations, this site supplied the gas that powered Bradford” said John Hartley, CEO of 1Energy. “Today, it begins a new chapter, providing low-carbon heat for some of the city’s best-known buildings and putting Bradford at the forefront of modern energy infrastructure. Connecting to the Bradford Energy Network gives organisations a practical way to reduce their reliance on gas, moving away from ageing boilers and towards modern energy infrastructure that will strengthen the city’s energy resilience. This £75 million investment creates infrastructure that can grow with Bradford and support its businesses and public services for decades to come.”
While the network currently makes use of one of the UK’s largest air source heat pump systems, it can also incorporate additional local heat sources as it grows, such as surplus heat from businesses. As such, it strengthens the city’s long-term energy resilience and gives local companies an opportunity to benefit.
Additionally, the project is protecting public health and cutting healthcare costs across Bradford by reducing harmful air pollution from connected buildings by 75 percent. It is also expected to cut carbon emissions by at least 75 percent, saving over 2,200 tonnes of carbon in its first year, equivalent to removing up to 15,000 short haul flights.
“Bradford is showing other cities what can be done by delivering modern energy infrastructure that supports our regeneration ambitions and strengthens the city’s offer to businesses and developers” added Cllr Andrew Judson, Deputy Leader of Bradford Council. “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.”
The project uses air source heat pump systems to extract warmth from Yorkshire’s air, concentrate it, and turn it into useable heat – like a fridge, but in reverse. Producing enough reliable, clean heat to supply the equivalent of 10,000 homes per year, the scheme is already warming the city’s courts and council buildings, the University of Bradford and Bradford College. 1Energy are also in negotiations with several other significant heat users across the city.
The network carries heat from the energy centre across Bradford, via a 5 kilometre (3 mile) network of underground insulated pipes, to the company’s customers. Heat exchangers then transfer warmth into the heating systems in connected buildings, replacing heat that was previously produced by individual gas boilers.
Developed at no cost to the local community, the project represents £75 million of investment in Bradford, combining £55 million of private capital and £20 million of Government investment through the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF). With a further £9.7 million in GHNF funding secured to support the networks expansion, 1Energy could invest over £100 million into the network as it grows.
As the first heat network in the UK that was funded by institutional investors, including pension funds and asset managers, it establishes a model for financing the country’s transition to energy resilience. Using the ‘Bradford blueprint’, 1Energy plans to deploy a further £700 million across its wider portfolio over the next 10 years.
As well as using warmth generated by heat pumps, the network is set to turn waste heat from an adjacent data centre into a resource for the city. Deep Green have secured planning permission to build a 5.6-megawatt (MW) data centre next to 1Energy’s new Thornton Road Energy Centre, with plans developed to capture emitted heat and use that to warm Bradford’s buildings.
This planned partnership offers a blueprint for more resilient data centres across the country, which underpin AI, advanced manufacturing, healthcare and other public services. Repurposing heat can reduce data centre cooling requirements, which account for up to a third of data centres’ energy consumption and provide an additional revenue stream for them – bolstering their commercial resilience. It also cuts the amount of heat released into the local area, an increasingly important issue for the communities they are in.
Students at the University of Bradford played an important role in unlocking the project by informing the university’s decision to become an anchor customer. With delivering on sustainability goals being an issue of growing importance for students, the institution opted to seize an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in this area.
Through the network, 1Energy is supporting young people across Bradford with careers in energy. Alongside the University of Bradford and Bradford College, the company has delivered masterclasses, facilitated energy centre visits, placements and apprenticeships – enabling them to continue playing an important role in a project they helped unlock.
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