A ‘Heatropolis’ project aims to create a blueprint for wider decarbonisation. The King’s Cross heat network could now be scaled up for millions of buildings across the country.

Heat networks use a single supply source to distribute heating to multiple buildings, and could make up over 18 per cent of the UK’s heating supply by 2050. The King’s Cross heat network currently delivers heat and power to over 40 commercial buildings, including Google and Nike’s UK headquarters, a university and more than 2,400 residential units.

Supported by Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund, Heatropolis will uncover the potential options heat networks nationwide can take to decarbonise efficiently while delivering reliable heating.

Alongside the potential carbon savings of 1,500 tonnes of CO2, a better understanding of how efficient green heat networks can operate flexibly could also help save customers as much as £35m in total, by 2050.

In the next phase, the project will explore what commercial methods will be needed to help unlock this value and test the feasibility of new technologies.

Ian Cameron, director of customer service and innovation at UK Power Networks, said: “There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to decarbonising heat. Understanding the best approaches to decarbonising heat networks is about creating a series of blueprints that can be implemented on a national scale.”

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