The solar thermal installation will make MTC less reliant on volatile energy markets, while reducing its carbon emissions by 37 tCO2e per year, equivalent to the carbon absorbed by around 1,400 mature trees over a year.
MTC employs over 900 people in Coventry, Liverpool and Oxfordshire. As part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, established by Innovate UK, MTC develops innovative production methods and helps UK manufacturers to adopt new technologies for growth.
The project will see 1,965 of Naked Energy's VirtuHOT solar thermal collectors installed on the roof of one of MTC’s buildings at Ansty Park, generating up to 786kW of heat. The collectors will provide thermal energy to serve an absorption chiller, which will provide space cooling to the organisation’s state-of-the-art manufacturing research facility in summer months. Additionally, the collectors will generate space heating and hot water for general use all year round and are connected to an 8,000-litre water storage tank.
Heat is often described as the overlooked half of the energy transition. Heating accounts for around a third of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, and much of industry’s energy demand is for heat rather than electricity1. The UK has the highest industrial electricity prices in the G7, which is contributing to growing interest in on-site renewable heat across the sector.
Naked Energy’s Virtu product range are a proven option at commercial scale and allow industrial businesses to reduce their reliance on gas and can save up to 10 times as much carbon as standard solar PV panels.
The project was delivered and installed by engineering specialist SHEco Group.
“It’s fantastic to partner with MTC and support them on their journey to net zero” said Christophe Williams, co-founder and CEO of Naked Energy. “The installation tells a clear story about where British manufacturing is heading. On the demand side, MTC, an organisation shaping the future of UK industry, has chosen to put renewable heat at the heart of its site. On the supply side, it’s British-engineered technology, designed and built in the UK, that is delivering it at record scale. Industry and business have long presented the hardest sectors to decarbonise, particularly when it comes to heating and cooling. This project shows what can be achieved when renewable solar heat is designed as part of a modern system, resulting in increased efficiency and lower emissions. The energy transition isn’t a distant ambition. It’s gaining real speed, and solar thermal is ready to play its role in it.”
For additional information:
