A £5.4 million University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) project to achieve net zero emissions by 2040 has got underway this week.
The Trust’s Estates, Capital Development and Transformation and Sustainability teams have begun a two-year project to reduce carbon emissions at the Royal Stoke University Hospital. It is replacing four large industrial boilers used to heat the hospital with local Air Source Heat Pumps and replace gas-fuelled steam production with local electrical generated steam.
Work to install the heat pumps as well as almost 100 solar panels on the roof of two buildings will begin today, Friday 26 January, increasing the efficiency of the estate and helping UHNM to meet the national targets of reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2028.
Two heat pumps will be installed this year with a further two during 2025.
Work is already underway to install energy-saving LED lights in three buildings on site.
The project has been made possible thanks to a £5.4 million Decarbonisation Scheme grant from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The work will also futureproof the site by supporting connectivity to the locally-planned geothermal District Heat Network in Stoke-on-Trent, further reducing gas combustion and associated direct carbon emissions.
Daily Focus reported earlier this week that Stoke-on-Trent City Council has outlined a 25-year timeline for the city’s District Heat Network, following a call from businesses including Waterworld Group, backed by Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce.
Lou Jenkins, Transformation Project Manager at UHNM, said: “We are delighted that work is underway on this monumental project, enabling the delivery of schemes that will significantly decarbonise the heating of our estate.
“The replacement of gas-fuelled heating systems with air source heat pumps and locally generated steam means UHNM is not only progressing towards its mandated carbon emission targets, but improving local air quality for our staff, patients, and local residents in our surrounding community.
“It’s great to have this new technology coming into UHNM, and for all the hard work of our Estates and Sustainability teams coming to fruition.”
