According to the waste management company, the pipeline will span new and existing schemes across Wiltshire, London, Bristol, Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire, and already includes £210 million worth of projects secured for delivery in 2025.
The Ecothermal Grid model will integrate multiple energy sources, including Energy from Waste (EfW) plants and geothermal and data-centre heat, supported by digital controls and energy storage technologies.
Southwark District Heat Network
One of Veolia’s developments is the Southwark 2.0 District Heat Network (DHN) in south London, where Phase One has now been completed.
The project has expanded an existing EfW-powered heat network that supplies more than 2,500 homes.
Once the full build-out is achieved, the extended network will provide nearly 7,000 homes with heat recovered from Veolia’s EfW facility in Southwark.
Subject to regulatory approval, Phase Two is due to begin in March 2026, bringing further extensions and capacity increases.
Wellcome Genome Campus
In Cambridgeshire, Veolia has been selected by the Wellcome Genome Campus as preferred partner to design and build a 5th-generation ambient loop heating and cooling network.
The system will recover geothermal heat and capture waste heat from an on-site data-centre facility.
The Campus is undertaking a major expansion – from 125 to 440 acres – to establish an international hub for genomics, biodata and data-science research.
Heat networks in the UK
Heat in buildings current account for 37% of national carbon dioxide emissions.
Yet as of 2024, only around 3% of UK heat demand is currently met by district heating networks.
Government policy aims for this to reach 20% by 2050, an ambition that would require tens of billions in new infrastructure and long-term certainty for investors.
Industry estimates place the potential value of the UK heat-network market at approximately £80 billion.
Estelle Brachlianoff, Chief Executive Officer of Veolia, commented: “Veolia’s ambition is to be at the forefront of a new wave of heating networks across Europe, and ultimately to become the number one player in urban heating in Europe.
“In so doing, we will deliver a direct route to carbon-neutral heating and cooling, using a diverse range of energy sources and integrating AI-driven smart controls and energy storage technologies to create the most reliable and flexible networks.
“We need – across Europe and in the UK – funding mechanisms that provide certainty, and stable regulatory frameworks.”
Policy support for heat networks
To unlock the next wave of heat-network deployment, Veolia has urged the UK Government to bring forward supportive long-term policies.
The proposals included:
- Incentivising heat supplied from EfW plants through the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), by reducing their ETS allowance liabilities
- Longer-term funding beyond the Green Heat Network Fund
- Obligations on buildings to connect to and use heat available from local networks
Gavin Graveson, Senior Executive Vice President, Northern Europe Zone, Veolia, added: “To encourage further investment in decarbonised heat in line with its 2050 targets, the government could use the UK Emissions Trading System (ETS) to incentivise electricity producers to supply local heating networks.
“Once the infrastructure is in place, the networks must also be fully utilised to optimise their profitability and carbon efficiency.
“Mandatory connections would guarantee operators stable demand.”
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