The UK’s largest production facility dedicated to ground source heat pumps, located in Truro, Cornwall, has been officially opened by Sir Nigel Wilson, CEO of Legal & General. The modern office and manufacturing facility belongs to Kensa Group which earlier this year benefitted from an £8 million investment from Legal & General Capital (LGC), the alternative asset platform of Legal & General Group.
The factory has the capacity to manufacture 30,000 ground source heat pumps every year – providing the equivalent carbon saving of taking 60,000 cars off the road. Kensa’s own heat pumps provide the factory and offices with underfloor heating, hot water and cooling by exchanging heat with water from a flooded mine shaft on the historic site.
Having pioneered the use of Networked Heat Pumps on Shared Ground Loop Arrays to efficiently and cost-effectively allow multiple-occupancy dwellings, such as tower blocks, and clusters of neighbouring homes to switch to ground source heat pumps, the company is focused on expanding the scale of this renewable infrastructure to heat whole streets and entire communities.
Employment in the Kensa Group has more than doubled from 80 employees in 2020 to 170 in 2022. Revenues have also doubled, from £15.5 million in 2020 to £31.5 million this year.
Dr Matt Trewhella, CEO of The Kensa Group, comments: “Heat pumps are key to the low carbon economy, but the whole heat pump supply chain, including Kensa, will have to expand dramatically to meet the UK’s 2028 heat pump installation target.
“The investment from Legal & General Capital has allowed us to significantly step up our efforts in areas such as R&D and operations, as we continue to prepare for further rapid growth.”
