‘Building a Greener Future: Delivering High Quality Heat Networks’ is REHAU’s annual district heating workshop. Held to showcase best practice and provide updates on industry initiatives, it builds on REHAU’s last workshop, ‘Low Carbon District Heating’ from November 2022. Specifiers, ESCOs, contractors, local authorities, developers and key decision-makers working on district heating projects can hear from leading industry speakers, who will collaborate and share knowledge through a string of presentations and panel debates. 

The upcoming event also follows the government’s announcement of the extended support it is giving to grow and decarbonise UK’s heat networks. As part of its ‘Powering Up Britain’ policy paper, it announced capital support will be extended to 2028 to increase low carbon heat networks, with £220 million of funding being made available to the Heat Network Transformation Programme over 2025/26 and 2026/27.

Steve Richmond, head of marketing & technical at REHAU Building Solutions, who will welcome attendees and chair the workshop, said: “While heat networks have been steadily increasing, they still only provide approximately 2-3% of the UK’s total heat demand. Accelerating this rollout will need joined-up thinking and removal of barriers such as design and installation challenges. 

“That’s why we’ve once again decided to bring this event to the calendar. Delegates will not only learn about the latest updates and regulations that directly affect them, but they’ll also see the innovations that us and industry partners are bringing out to help solve their day-to-day pain points. This includes REHAU’s latest shroud solution for district heating pipework, Clip-Flex.”

Following Steve’s introduction, delegates will hear from an expert panel of industry speakers from the government and companies including DESNZ, Sustainable Energy, Therma Mech, FairHeat, and Switch2. The day, which runs from 9:30am – 2:00pm, will also include two debate sessions and a talk from Steve Richmond on innovation in district heating shrouds & industry training. 

Speaking ahead of the launch, Steve said: “Heat networks depend on pre-insulated pipe and joints, which are only as good as the shrouds that cover them, so it was important for us to create a solution that gave the highest level of both flexibility and reliability.