The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) is investing £1.3m in what is described as the UK’s largest solar thermal installation at its Ansty Park campus in Coventry.
The system will use 1,965 solar thermal collectors fitted to a building at the manufacturing research facility. Together, they can generate up to 786kW of heat for space heating, hot water and summer cooling through an absorption chiller.
An 8,000-litre water storage tank will help manage the supply throughout the year. The installation is expected to cut the MTC’s carbon emissions by 37 tonnes a year, equivalent to the carbon absorbed by around 1,400 mature trees.
Renewable heat put to work
The project was delivered by engineering specialist SHEco Group, working with Naked Energy, whose VirtuHOT collectors were designed and built in the UK.
The MTC employs more than 900 people across Coventry, Liverpool and Oxfordshire. As part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, it develops production methods and helps manufacturers adopt new technologies.
By using solar heat for both heating and cooling, the centre aims to reduce its exposure to energy price swings while offering manufacturers a working example of lower-carbon industrial energy.
Why it matters for Britain
The Coventry installation gives UK manufacturers a large-scale demonstration of renewable heat, an area that accounts for much of industry’s energy demand. It also brings together British-developed technology and a West Midlands engineering business on a practical decarbonisation project.
