• Ahead of the Government's launch of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme on 23rd May, this announcement marks EDF's first investment in the UK heat pump market
• Supporting more households switch from polluting hydrocarbons to clean electricity will help reduce exposure to international gas volatility¹
• New Heat Pump Installers Network Academy will help upskill engineers across the country
• Investment signals EDF's long-term commitment to helping its customers and Britain achieve net zero

EDF in the UK, Britain's biggest generator of zero carbon electricity, has entered into a strategic investment and partnership with Clacton-based CB Heating to advance its heat pump offering for its UK customers and help upskill engineers across the country.

The strategic investment means EDF will partner with CB Heating for its customers heat pump installations, offering EDF's 3 million customers an end-to-end installation journey through CB Heating's Heat Pump Installer Network (HPIN) - with 500 approved heat pump installers in the UK.

This announcement comes ahead of the Government's launch of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme which will provide customers with upfront grants of £5,000 to reduce the cost of installing eligible heat pump systems. The scheme will be open to voucher applications on the 23rd of May.

Combined with progressive installation targets, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme forms part of plans the Government set out last year to accelerate the transition to this proven, low carbon technology which support its decarbonisation strategy.

EDF's investment will also support the development of a Heat Pump Installers Network Academy, delivering training to upskill engineers across the country. Currently, there are less than 4,000 qualified heat pump installers (according to the latest MCS estimates²) in the UK compared to more than 100,000 gas safe engineers. The Academy has the potential to train up to 4,000 new heat pump installers from autumn 2022.

With more than 20 years' experience in the heat pump market having installed their first heat pump in 2000, CB Heating has a proven track record of delivering installations and excellent customer service (Trustpilot rated 4.8³).

Lord Callanan, Business and Energy Minister, said: "With £5,000 grants becoming available through the government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme, heat pumps are going to be the affordable, convenient and obvious choice for consumers looking to replace a gas or oil boiler.

"This will open up huge opportunities for private sector investment, which companies like EDF and CB Heating are already taking advantage of, ensuring installers are ready to help households move to cleaner heating to keep their homes warm and avoid the volatile prices of fossil fuels."

Philippe Commaret, Managing Director of Customers at EDF, said: "The more we can do now to invest in decarbonisation and help Britain move away from gas, the better we will be able to protect households from the volatility of global fossil fuel markets.

"EDF is already helping Britain achieve Net Zero through its strategic investments in wind, nuclear, solar, electric vehicles and battery storage. I am delighted that we are now making this strategic investment in and partnering with CB Heating, whose experience and excellence in the heat pump market makes them a stand-out installer.

"This is the first step in delivering on our long-term strategy of decarbonisation of heat. Through investment in training and upskilling engineers in each region of the country through the unique HPIN academy, this ambitious and regionally focussed approach will see EDF working with smaller businesses and local installers to help Britain achieve net zero."

Clayton Browne, Managing Director, CB Heating, said: "We are immensely proud that EDF have chosen to invest in what we have created here at CB Heating. We have a great team that always go above and beyond for our customers and our HPIN installers. The creation of our Heat Pump Installer Network - HPIN, has enabled us to carry out installations on a national scale by working with local heating companies across the UK. HPIN embraces a real sense of togetherness working together, sharing our 20 years specialist knowledge and experience with existing heating companies with training and support as they transition from fossil fuel boilers over to low carbon heat pump technology. Customers can have the confidence of buying from a national company they can trust whilst supporting small business locally, with the backing of Britain's biggest generator of Zero Carbon electricity.

"Our new HPIN training academy will be able to train over 4,000 engineers a year with dedicated heat pump training facilities unlike anything else currently available to any heating installer in the UK. I am very excited by what this partnership will provide for our customers, installers and our team as we all move forward to a greener future."

Notes to editors:

1. In 2020, 38% of the UK's gas demand was used for domestic heating
2. As at the end of March there were 1,269 MCS certified Heat Pump contractors (businesses). MCS uses an average figure of three installation teams per certified contractor, which would equate to around 3,807 individual installers.
3. CB Heating have an excellent Trustpilot rating of 4.8

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