Net Zero Heat
Innovate UK’s Net Zero Heat programme works with key partners to overcome barriers to enable a faster roll-out of decarbonised heat for buildings.
The programme accelerates innovation to help the UK transition away from gas for heating. The programmes cohort includes UK companies crucial to this goal, working together to overcome growth barriers. Heating buildings accounts for 36% of CO2 emissions in Europe, with poorly insulated buildings causing higher emissions. Air bricks contribute up to 15% of a homes heat loss, wasting 34GWh a year in the UK.
Bitcoin mining waste repurposed
Heat began as an innovation project with British Gas, focussed on helping those in fuel poverty. Inspired by the waste heat generated by Bitcoin mining, they explored whether that heat could be repurposed. By attaching powerful servers to domestic hot water cylinders, the waste heat is reused to create free hot water for the households. Switching from Bitcoin mining to general cloud computing, their distributed data centre enables groundbreaking sustainable computing with social impact.
Links to the video and to find out more about the Net Zero Heat programme below.