Home heat efficiency specialist Ventive will use the funds to develop a heat pump production facility. Ventive is also receiving a £1.5m grant from the UK Government as part of a scheme to roll out low carbon heating solutions.
- Ventive has raised £2.5 million and will have access to an extra £1.5 million in government funding.
- Heat pumps have a lower environmental impact and higher energy efficiency than other heating systems.
- The UK needs to scale up efficiency technologies to improve its energy efficiency levels, which are much lower than neighbouring countries.
Ventive’s plans to scale up production
The funds will be invested in Ventive’s production facility in Hartlebury, England, where it makes modular heat pumps. They provide integrated ventilation, renewable heating and hot water, alongside a cooling system for the summer months.
Ventive said its heat pumps can be used for both new builds and to retrofit existing homes and they are designed to be delivered pre-plumbed and pre-configured for quick installation. The company partnered with engineering services provider QM Systems, a subsidiary of PipeHawk (LSE:PIP), to scale up production as demand grows.
Rob Morrison, managing director of Ventive, said: “The demand for more efficient domestic heating solutions has never been greater. This need has been compounded by the threat of climate change, and the current cost of living crisis which has sent energy bills soaring.”
Financing package unlocks government grant
The funding round was led by EMV Capital, a deeptech and venture capital specialist and subsidiary of investor NetScientific (+). EMV Capital has taken a 1.6% stake in Ventive.
The financing package includes an initial equity and debt investment of £600,000 from new investors as well as the restructuring of around £1 million of historical debt. Ventive will also access a £1.5 million grant from the UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of the £60 million Heat Pump Ready programme.
BEIS has selected 24 projects in England and Scotland to roll out low carbon heating in homes and businesses across the UK. It is being implemented alongside a Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides grants to property owners seeking to install low carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps.
What are heat pumps?
Heat pumps capture heat from outside and move it inside, or vice versa to cool down the home. They are powered by electricity rather than by fuel, so they do not emit CO2 themselves.
They are more efficient than other heating systems, such as boilers, because the heat being produced is greater than the quantity of electricity used to power the heat pumps. If the electricity comes from renewable sources, heat pumps can cut dramatically the amount of emissions associated with heating homes.
UK needs more innovation to improve energy efficiency
The UK has much lower levels of energy efficiency compared to neighbouring countries because homes are poorly insulated.
According to a study published in 2020 by thermostats maker Tado, UK homes lose an average of 3°C after five hours when indoor temperatures are 20°C and the outside temperature is 0°C. In contrast, Norway, Germany and France recorded averages of 0.9°C, 1°C and 2.5°C respectively.
Improving energy efficiency lowers household bills, which have skyrocketed across Europe in 2022, as gas prices spiked amid geopolitical tensions due to the war in Ukraine. Heat pumps are still more expensive to install than gas boilers, however, which is why their takeup has been relatively slow.
Investment in new technologies such as Ventive’s is key to make heat pumps more accessible by bringing installation costs down. Innovation is rolled out faster when supported by policy measures and financial incentives, such as the UK Government’s Heat Pump Ready programme and Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
