A new heat network running along and beneath the River Thames could eventually provide low-carbon heating to as many as 650,000 London homes.
The London Strategic Heat Main is set to receive £41 million in Government funding, with the project expected to help unlock around £5 billion of investment in the capital’s heat networks. It could also support skilled work in tunnelling, engineering and river transport.
How the Thames heat network will work
The project is already under development but still needs planning approval. It will initially serve seven London boroughs: Bexley, Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark, the City of London, Lambeth and Westminster.
There is potential for the network to be extended later into Barking and Dagenham, Tower Hamlets, and Kensington and Chelsea.
In the early stages, electric barges will carry hot water 15.5 miles each day along the Thames. A specially built tunnel beneath the river will then allow that heat to be circulated to homes and businesses along the route.
Heat networks supply several buildings from a shared system. They can use excess heat from sources such as data centres and factories, sending it through hot-water pipes instead of relying on separate heating systems in each property.
Funding for heat projects across England and Wales
The London project is one of several schemes sharing £90 million through the Government’s green heat network fund and heat network efficiency scheme. Ministers say the overall funding could support more than 2,000 jobs and help reduce household bills.
Other London schemes receiving support include a network in Bexley and Greenwich, which could serve up to 100,000 homes when fully built. A separate system around Marble Arch will use water-source heat pumps to draw energy from the London chalk aquifer for offices, homes, hotels and businesses near Oxford Street.
Funding will also help extend heat networks in Bradford and Solihull. In Bradford, a £9.7 million award will support an extension benefiting 255 homes, a hospital and seven schools and colleges. Solihull will receive £3.9 million to extend a network serving council buildings, a leisure centre, a theatre and a college.
Alongside new projects, £13.3 million has been committed to improve 76 inefficient heat networks across England and Wales. This includes upgrades affecting residents in Manchester, Bermondsey and Islington, as well as schemes in Newport and Abergavenny.
Could floating gardens follow?
The pontoons used to store water tanks could potentially be turned into “Thames Floating Gardens”, creating new green spaces on the river. The idea is inspired by the embankments built in the 19th century to cover parts of the London Underground.
Why this is good news for Britain
The project could give hundreds of thousands of London homes access to lower-carbon heating while supporting investment and skilled jobs in construction, engineering and river transport. Funding for upgrades elsewhere should also improve heating systems for residents, schools, hospitals and other public buildings.
