Veolia Announces GBP 1Billion Ecothermal Grid Pipelie to Expand UK District Heating

Expand UK District Heating

UK: Veolia has announced a GBP 1 billion (USD 1.12 billion) project pipeline to be awarded by 2030 as part of its new Ecothermal Grid rollout in the UK, supporting the company’s goal to expand its district heating footprint using diverse energy sources to deliver carbon-neutral heating and cooling. With buildings responsible for 37% of the UK's CO₂ emissions and only 3% of national heat demand currently met by district heating far below the government's 20% target for 2050 the potential UK market value for district heating is estimated at around GBP 80 billion (USD 89.9 billion). Veolia is urging the government to support a new wave of district heating through measures such as incentives under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, long-term funding beyond the Green Heat Network Fund, and mandatory use of waste heat in new and selected existing buildings.

To meet rising demand, Veolia is developing a nationwide project pipeline across Wiltshire, London, Bristol, Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire, including GBP 210 million (USD 236 million) in UK project wins already secured for 2025. Recent progress includes completing Phase One of the “Southwark 2.0” District Heat Network (DHN), extending a system that currently serves over 2,500 homes and saves around 8,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually; once fully completed, the network will supply nearly 7,000 homes and reduce emissions by an additional 14,000 tonnes every year. Phase Two is set to begin in March 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Veolia has also been selected to design and build a 5th-generation heating and cooling network at the expanding Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridgeshire, capturing geothermal and data-centre waste heat as the site grows from 125 to 440 acres.

Source: Veolia