£4 Million Boost for Tyseley Heat Network to Drive Birmingham’s Low Carbon Heat Revolution
Hemiko has secured almost £4 million of support from the Government’s Green Heat Network Fund to develop a pioneering clean heat hub in Tyseley that will anchor the West Midlands as a national centre for decarbonisation.
As a growing hub for low-carbon heat, Tyseley will see the network incorporate a range of sustainable heat sources, including energy from waste and data centres, feeding this into a local energy hub and distributed out. In its first phase, the scheme will supply low-carbon heating to schools, public buildings, commercial premises, and industrial facilities across the area.
With ambitions for expansion, the network could enable low carbon heat to be delivered into Birmingham City Centre, helping the city meet growing demand for new homes and businesses while progressing towards its net zero targets.
As Birmingham and the wider West Midlands continue to grow, the need for reliable, sustainable heat will only increase. The Tyseley Heat Network demonstrates how locally available resources, such as waste heat, can be harnessed outside city centres to power urban centres. By locating Energy Hubs in strategic places like Tyseley, close to industry, infrastructure, and communities, the region can unlock the scale needed for large low carbon energy projects.
To deliver this vision, Hemiko is engaging with Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), Tyseley Energy Park (TEP) and Sustainability West Midlands (SWM) to strengthen the region’s role as a hub for innovation and sustainability.
Alongside clean energy delivery, the project will create lasting benefits for local people. Hemiko is committed to working with local contractors and supporting apprenticeships, trainee positions, scholarships, and jobs, ensuring Birmingham residents gain skills and opportunities from the energy transition. The company has already launched a heat network maintenance technician apprenticeship programme – pioneered by South City College Birmingham – which will equip young people with the necessary skills to thrive in the heat networks sector. Hemiko’s investment in local talent will ensure the West Midlands region continues to lead the way in the UK’s clean energy revolution.
Toby Heysham, CEO, Hemiko said: “Hemiko is proud to lead this pioneering project in Birmingham, collaborating with local partners to harness the region’s huge waste heat resource. Bringing heat from outside the city centre into Birmingham’s busiest districts, we will not only cut emissions but also will give access to locally wasted heat - access that homes and businesses would not benefit from without a heat network. This scheme is about creating opportunities and leaving a lasting infrastructure in the West Midlands that links waste heat to the customers that so desperately need it.
Hemiko wants to make sure that we contribute to the communities that we work in. To this end we’ve launched an apprenticeship programme with South City College Birmingham, giving local people the skills and experience to be at the heart of the region’s low carbon future.”
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:
“We must make our energy supplies more efficient and more secure, and that means moving to smarter ways of powering homes, schools and businesses.
Our regional energy strategy sets out how cutting-edge technologies can transform the way our energy is generated, stored and used across the West Midlands.
And now, with government backing, we will be working with Hemiko and Birmingham City Council to put this plan into action, powered by waste and driven by data. This investment will make Tyseley and Small Heath healthier places to live and work, create good jobs, and continue to build a cleaner, fairer and more sustainable energy future for our region.”
Councillor Majid Mahmood, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, Birmingham City Council, said:
“We all need to play our part in the city’s decarbonisation and the private sector is a really important partner. So it is great to see them playing such an active role by developing energy infrastructure in the Tyseley area to support local, affordable and resilient heat supply. We are exploring with interest opportunities that will also allow large heat resources to be brought into the city centre and see the energy transition presenting exciting opportunities for supply chains and employment.”
David Horsfall, Director of Property and Sustainability at Tyseley Energy Park said:
“We welcome investment in heat decarbonisation, which we see as an integral part of our drive for clean growth innovation. This is an important step forward not only in driving growth and adoption of this technology in our region, but also in showcasing the advantages that this brings to businesses, local communities and beyond.”
Dr Beck Collins, Senior Sustainability Adviser, Sustainability West Midlands said:
“SWM are delighted to be working with our members and our wider network to support the development of sustainable heat for Birmingham. Heat has long been the poor relation in energy decarbonisation, hampering our wider decarbonisation efforts, and leaving homes and businesses with increasingly unaffordable bills. Heat networks using waste heat are an innovative piece of the puzzle to solve this challenge, made possible by working together with multiple public and private sector partners. We look forward to sharing the opportunities that will come from this low carbon heat hub with our networks.”
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Media contact: press@hemiko.com
Available for interview: Toby Heysham, CEO, Hemiko