Heating and Ventilating

Renewable technologies, including heat pumps, are critical to delivering more energy-efficient, low-carbon homes and are a central pillar of the newly announced Warm Homes Plan. The scheme includes £5bn earmarked for home upgrades, alongside grants of up to £7,500 to support households transitioning from gas boilers to heat pumps.

With UK-based heat pump manufacturing essential to meeting anticipated growth in demand, the MP toured Vaillant’s heat pump production line, which opened in 2021 and has been supplying the UK market for the past five years.

During the visit, Katie White saw the manufacturing line in operation and discussed future plans with Vaillant’s senior management team, focusing on how production capacity can continue to scale in line with the rollout of the Warm Homes Plan nationwide.

Recognising the importance of workforce skills to a successful transition to low-carbon heating, the MP also met with a number of Vaillant’s apprentices, including their Low Carbon Heating Apprentices, Engineering Apprentices and Business Apprentices. She learned more about their training and development pathways and answered questions on the future of heating and the vital role of apprenticeships in building the skills pipeline.

Climate Minister, Katie White, said: “Our Warm Homes Plan will deliver £15 billion of public investment, roll out upgrades to up to 5 million homes that could save them hundreds on energy bills and help lift up to a million families out of fuel poverty by 2030.
'It was fantastic to meet the apprentices and technicians at Vaillant’s heat pump factory in Belper. These are the good clean energy jobs that are driving forward our Warm Homes Plan and Britain's clean energy revolution.'

Henrik Hansen, managing director of Vaillant UK and Ireland, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Katie White to our heat pump production facility in Belper. The announcement of the Warm Homes Plan reinforces the critical role renewable technologies play in the UK’s clean energy transition. Heat pumps, alongside other solutions, will be central to improving home energy efficiency and helping to keep energy bills down. It was interesting to have the opportunity to further discuss what the plan intends to achieve.

“Vaillant is at the forefront of UK manufacturing’s response to the clean energy transformation, supplying heat pump solutions at scale to meet market demand and consumer expectations. It was also encouraging to see Katie White engage with our apprentices, who represent the skilled workforce required to deliver the ambitions of the Warm Homes Plan in the years ahead.”