The cash was raised thanks to the Clean Growth Fund, Eurazeo’s Smart City fund, and Aviva Ventures. The trio join existing investor Copley Point Capital in the 12 year old company.

Cheltenham-based Rendesco works with property developers including Cala Homes & Telford Homes to install low-carbon, networks based on ground sourced heat.  It also operates networks which supply clean heat and hot water to over 8,000 homes nationwide.

As Britain’s third largest source of CO₂ emissions, ridding carbon from heating buildings is a critical challenge.  Rendesco says it is at its forefront.

Today’s new investment comes Whitehall’s closing earlier this year of final consultations on the Future Homes Standard. Its final measures will underpin the incoming government’s plans to decarbonise home heat, including banning from next January the installation of gas boilers in new homes. Similar legislative measures are also driving decarbonisation across Europe.

The cash will accelerate Rendesco’s growth plans, aimed at providing a low-carbon alternative to gas grids and cutting consumers’ bills.  Part of the money will be directed at higher tech, yielding cleverer, more consumer-focused systems to manage home energy.

The new investment is separate from, but complementary to, Rendesco’s joint venture with Last Mile Heat.  Rendesco’s new build home solutions are owned by Last Mile Heat, enabling house builders to install ground source heat solutions in their developments at a considerably lower cost than with other low-carbon heat sources.  The joint venture has already developed a pipeline of £150m worth of clean heat infrastructure, boosting futureproofed heating of dwellings.

Rendesco’s founder Alastair Murray said: “I am pleased to welcome Clean Growth Fund, Eurazeo & Aviva Ventures as investors in Rendesco.

“This funding means Rendesco is incredibly well capitalised, in parallel to the significant capital available to deploy into capex costs via Last Mile Heat.  Their collective expertise and support will be invaluable as we pursue our ambitious growth plans, rapidly expanding our clean heating solutions to reach millions of homes.”

Susannah McClintock of specialist investors the Clean Growth Fund enthused: “Decarbonising heat is critical to achieving Britain’s Net Zero targets. Rendesco’s heat network solutions provide a cost-effective, efficient route to delivering the low carbon heat required for the transition away from gas to renewables. This investment aligns with our commitment to empower early-stage entrepreneurs to tackle the climate change crisis.”

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Environmental business practitioners the Aldersgate Group today publish reports urging stronger, more sustained measures by UK ministers to secure job creation and better inward investment in tomorrow’s industries.

Commissioned by Aldersgate from economists WPI, the two reports are the latest in a line of complaints from Britain’s boardrooms that recent governments have adopted too piecemeal an approach to greening Britain’s economy.

WPI Economics finds that without further policy support for heavy industrial decarbonisation, over £224 billion or 5.9% total gross value added (GVA) could be lost in 2050.

Heavy industries such as glass and cement making, plus their supporting supply chains, are critical to the UK economy, contributing £152 billion in GVA now, and supporting over 1.4 million jobs. across the country, the studies calculate.

Clearer policy signals than Rishi Sunak’s administration currently provides could, say WPI, deliver economic growth across the UK’s regions, increase supply chain security, and protect more than 450,000 jobs and £72bn GVA, all while providing a major economic boost to other sectors across the economy.

A swifter, stronger Whitehall response is vital, say Aldersgate’s industrialists, to international competition such as the USA’s Inflation Reduction Act and the EU’s green industrial strategy.  Both policies debuted in 2021, but have met with inadequate UK response, says the ginger group.

Aldersgate’s second paper outlines what the UK must do to retain investment in the Net Zero transition and maximise economic benefits despite a challenging new economic landscape.

Adding to the urgency are recent reports that despite being a global leader in clean energy investment, the UK has already started to fall behind international rivals.

Last year investment in Britain’s energy transition fell 10%, Aldersgate’s economists note. That’s in stark contrast to the US and Germany, which scored rises of 24% and 17% respectively.

WBI’s research also finds several among the UK’s top ten sectors of national significance to exports are most exposed to trade risks from Biden’s IR Act.

Key asks on the Aldersgate’s wish list of government include

• enacting a UK emissions trading scheme to harmonise with the EU’s equivalent
• lowering high electricity prices for heavy industrial users,
• mandating more green buying by public bodies
• setting out a voluntary Contracts for Difference scheme.
• delivering a robust, comprehensive industrial strategy, favouring sectors offering strategic, climate-accommodating growth

Aldersgate executive director Rachel Solomon Williams said: “Our members are keen to harness the economic opportunity which the Net Zero transition offers in the UK.

“The Government has made positive statements about the need for investment into UK clean industries, but is increasingly falling behind the US and other countries in backing statements up with firm policies and long-term strategies”.

The group’s new research highlights, according to Solomon Williams, both the risks of inaction and the huge benefits that would follow tangible action.

Nick Molho, head of climate policy at institutional investors Aviva, said: “A rapid and comprehensive response is essential if the UK is to remain competitive in the growing global competition for low carbon investment and supply chains and if it is to maximise the energy security, job creation and cost of living benefits of the net zero transition.

“This should include a targeted public funding intervention to crowd in private investment in areas where market barriers persist, and a UK Climate Transition Plan tackling outstanding policy gaps in areas such as buildings, surface transport and heavy industry.”

Read the Aldersgate Group’s new research here  and here.

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