Rendesco, a London-headquartered clean heat network developer and owner-operator, has raised £6 million in funding. The new investment has been led by Clean Growth Fund (which invested in Kamma and HutanBio) Eurazeo’s Smart City fund, and Aviva Ventures (which invested in HealthKey and Hyperexponential). They join existing investor Copley Point Capital.
How will Rendesco use the investment?
The London startup plans to use the investment to expand its operations and further develop its solutions in the UK and European energy markets. The funding will accelerate its ambitious growth and innovation plans to reduce consumer energy bills, decarbonise heat at scale, and provide a low-carbon alternative to gas grid infrastructure.
It will also enable a broadening of its climate technology capabilities with more intelligent and consumer-centric home energy management systems.
The capital into Rendesco will enable it to expand its heat network projects further, advancing its end goal to replace gas heating with clean heat networks, and significantly reduce the carbon emissions associated with heating in the UK and Europe.
Susannah McClintock, Investment Partner at the Clean Growth Fund, the UK specialist clean tech VC firm, said: “Decarbonising heat is critical to achieving our net zero targets. Rendesco’s heat network solutions provide a cost-effective and efficient route to delivering the low-carbon heat required for the transition away from gas to renewable alternatives. This investment aligns with our commitment to empower early-stage entrepreneurs to tackle the climate change crisis.”
Pierre Devillard, Managing Director at Eurazeo for the Smart City fund, said: “Rendesco fits very well within Eurazeo’s investment strategy. Indeed, the company leverages mature technologies, strong digital and industrial capabilities as well as smart financing structure to deploy at scale profitable assets that decarbonise heat. We plan to leverage our pan-European presence to catalyse the development of those climate solutions in the UK and beyond.”
Anthony Barker, Director at Aviva Ventures, said: “This investment forms part of Aviva’s commitment to back British companies with a strong sustainability mission, which will help support growth in important UK sectors, helping the UK get ready for the future. Rendesco has an excellent track record and this investment will help UK households transition to greener energy by providing clean heat networks across the country.”
What does Rendesco do?
The UK finalises its proposals to decarbonise heat in buildings following the conclusion of the Future Homes Standard consultation earlier this year. As per the same, gas boilers will no longer be installed in new homes from 2025. Similar legislative measures are also driving decarbonisation across Europe.
Founded in 2012 by Alastair Murray, the independent clean heat developer and operator Rendesco designs, installs, and operates unique low-carbon solutions that use ground source technology to provide homes and buildings with sustainable heat and hot water. This is a complete network development package, where it provides a full suite of design capabilities and second-to-none installation quality.
It manages hundreds of networks across the UK that provide heating and hot water for more than 8,000 homes, generating over 14GWh of sustainable heating and valuable operating performance data on ground source heat technology. Further information is available at www.rendesco.com
Rendesco already works with many of the UK’s leading property developers, such as Cala Homes and Telford Homes, to design and install low-carbon and low-cost ground source heat networks.
Alastair Murray, CEO and founder of Rendesco, said: “I am pleased to welcome Clean Growth Fund, Eurazeo, and Aviva Ventures as investors in Rendesco. The completion of 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 homeowners and making a major – and much needed – dent in the UK’s carbon reduction efforts.”
Rendesco’s recent joint venture
Recently, the company entered into a joint venture with Last Mile Infrastructure, Last Mile Heat. As per the same, the company’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 other low-carbon solutions.
The joint venture has already developed a £150 million clean heat infrastructure pipeline, increasing access to future-proofed heating. The new capital from this raise will be used to improve the efficiency and affordability of Rendesco’s clean heat networks, enabling them to be deployed at a much greater scale than air source heat pumps.
Furthermore, it designs and installs the UK’s largest water-source heat network at Welborne Garden Village, providing clean heating and cooling to 6,000 new homes. The first-of-its-kind technology sets a viable blueprint for successfully providing clean heat networks to housing developments at scale.
What do we think about Rendesco?
The company is a pioneer in the clean heat sector, leveraging ground and water source technologies to provide sustainable heating solutions. Their innovative approach, strong partnerships, and recent funding will accelerate the deployment of low-carbon heat networks, contributing to decarbonising the UK’s and Europe’s heating systems and reducing consumer energy bills.
