EDF in the UK has entered into a strategic investment and partnership with Clacton-based CB Heating to advance its heat pump offering for its UK customers and help upskill engineers across the country.
The strategic investment means EDF will partner with CB Heating for its customer’s heat pump installations across EDF’s 3 million customer network – with 500 approved heat pump installers in the UK.
EDF’s investment will also support the development of a Heat Pump Installers Network Academy, delivering training to upskill engineers across. Currently, there are less than 4,000 qualified heat pump installers compared to more than 100,000 gas safe engineers, it said. The Academy had the potential to train up to 4,000 new heat pump installers from autumn 2022, a statement added.
Philippe Commaret, managing director of customers at EDF, said: “The more we can do now to invest in decarbonisation and help Britain move away from gas, the better we will be able to protect households from the volatility of global fossil fuel markets.
“EDF is already helping Britain achieve Net Zero through its strategic investments in wind, nuclear, solar, electric vehicles and battery storage. I am delighted that we are now making this strategic investment in and partnering with CB Heating, whose experience and excellence in the heat pump market makes them a stand-out installer.
“This is the first step in delivering on our long-term strategy of decarbonisation of heat. Through investment in training and upskilling engineers in each region of the country through the unique HPIN academy, this ambitious and regionally focussed approach will see EDF working with smaller businesses and local installers to help Britain achieve net zero.”
Clayton Browne, managing director, CB Heating, added: “The creation of our Heat Pump Installer Network – HPIN, has enabled us to carry out installations on a national scale by working with local heating companies across the UK. HPIN embraces a real sense of togetherness working together, sharing our 20 years specialist knowledge and experience with existing heating companies with training and support as they transition from fossil fuel boilers over to low carbon heat pump technology. Customers can have the confidence of buying from a national company they can trust whilst supporting small business locally, with the backing of Britain’s biggest generator of Zero Carbon electricity.”