• News
  • Events
  • Case Studies
  • Publications
  • Press Office
  • Contact
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • OxLEP Business
OxLEP OxLEP OxLEP OxLEP
  • About
    • About OxLEP
    • About Oxfordshire
    • Our Team
    • Our Board and sub-groups
    • Our Capital Programmes
      • Getting Building Fund
      • Local Growth Fund
      • City Deal
      • Growing Places Fund
    • Our Meetings
    • Our Strategies
    • Our Governance
    • The LEP Network
    • Our Vacancies
  • Skills
    • Our Approach
    • Our Programmes
    • Business Volunteering
    • Skills and Labour Market Information
    • Skills Capital Infrastructure
    • Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards
  • Business
    • Our Approach
    • Our business support
    • Our impact on business
    • Brexit support
    • Invest in Oxfordshire
  • News
  • Events
  • Case Studies
  • Publications
  • Press Office
  • Contact
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • OxLEP Business

Search form

News

You are here

  • Home
  • News
  • Oxford Brookes to become the UK’s first university to retrofit pioneering new heating technology on campus

OxLEP uses cookies to capture data, allowing us to improve our site experience for everyone.

To learn about how we use cookies please visit our privacy policy

Posted on 19th November 2021

Oxford Brookes to become the UK’s first university to retrofit pioneering new heating technology on campus

Oxford Brookes to become the UK’s first university to retrofit pioneering new heating technology on campus

Project will reduce carbon emissions by 20%

With the world’s attention focused on the outcomes of the COP26 summit, Oxford Brookes University is introducing a major technological advancement to significantly reduce carbon use on campus.

To further decarbonise Oxford Brookes’ activities on its Headington Campus, the University will install a 500kW Geo-Exchange Heating and Cooling System to displace the use of fossil fuels. It is estimated that the new system, backed by a £2.3 million decarbonisation grant from the Government's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, will help to reduce carbon emissions from the University’s Gipsy Lane site by approximately 20%. 

First UK University to have an operational deep borehole system 

The technology reduces the environmental impact of the existing heating and cooling system, and Oxford Brookes will become the first UK university with an operational deep borehole system. The concept involves the capture of waste energy from cooling, storing it in the earth for later use as heat. 

The development will involve the drilling of fourteen boreholes to a depth of approximately 220m. Piping from the boreholes will connect to a flowline, trenched underground the Headington Campus’ Energy Centre. 

The system replaces the use of fossil fuels and reduces energy consumption across both cooling and heating processes. Requiring significantly less space than traditional ground source heating it can be retrofitted to existing sites, such as the Energy Centre in the University’s John Henry Brookes Building.

Bold actions to tackle the climate crisis

Jerry Woods, Director of Estates and Campus Services at Oxford Brookes University, commented: “We face a climate emergency and as a university are taking bold actions to play our part in tackling the challenges ahead of us. 

“We have a strong commitment to sustainability and the environment at Oxford Brookes, so I am proud that we will be the first UK university to have a completed installation of this innovative deep borehole technology. It will have a huge impact on reducing our carbon footprint, taking us a step closer to achieving net zero emissions.”

Richard Ambrose, Head of Operations at Black Mountain Development which is working with Oxford Brookes on the project, commented: “Black Mountain Developments is extremely proud to be working with Oxford Brookes University to install a Geo-Exchange Heating and Cooling System on its Headington Campus. The project will comprise the design and installation of a Geo-Exchange Heating and Cooling System to displace gas use in the existing combined heat and power system for the purpose of improvement by contributing toward the decarbonisation of the heating and cooling and hot water supply.

“The installation of Erda Energy technology will support the University in reaching the objectives set as part of its climate emergency declaration, and we very much look forward to commencing with the development.”

Oxford Brookes is committed to a range of ambitious sustainability targets. Earlier this month the University declared a climate emergency and set out ambitious sustainability targets with an intention to become a net-zero organisation by 2040. Earlier this year, Oxford Brookes signed up to the Zero Carbon Oxford Charter pledge to achieve net zero carbon emissions as a city by 2040.

Find out more on OxLEP's official COP26 event: 'The Billion Tonne Drop'

Rob Panting

By Rob Panting 526 articles

[email protected]​oxfordshirelep.com
01865 897195
07748 333402

Other General News

8th August 2022

OX to ZERO summit: Oxfordshire’s world-leading solutions to reaching net zero

5th August 2022

Local Growth Fund Case Study: Upstream Flood Storage at Northway and Marston

29th July 2022

Local Growth Fund Case Study: Didcot Station Multi-Storey Car Park

22nd July 2022

Local Growth Fund Case Study: The Advanced Skills Centre

21st July 2022

Green light for 'Nebula R&D scheme at Milton Park

21st July 2022

'Meanwhile in Oxfordshire..' Case Study: The family of foodies cooking up one of the top-3 restaurants in Oxford from a ‘Meanwhile’ co-working space

Stay up to date on the latest stories and events with our newsletter

Sign Up
youtubetwitterlinkedinfacebookinstagram
  • About
    • About OxLEP
    • About Oxfordshire
    • Our Team
    • Our Board and sub-groups
    • Our Capital Programmes
    • Our Meetings
    • Our Strategies
    • Our Governance
    • The LEP Network
    • Our Vacancies
  • Skills
    • Our Approach
    • Our Programmes
    • Business Volunteering
    • Skills and Labour Market Information
    • Skills Capital Infrastructure
    • Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards
  • Business
    • Our Approach
    • Our business support
    • Our impact on business
    • Brexit support
    • Invest in Oxfordshire
The Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) Ltd HQ Building Thomson Avenue Harwell Campus OX11 0GD
[email protected]​oxfordshirelep.com
0345 241 1196
  • News
  • Events
  • Case Studies
  • Publications
  • Press Office
  • Contact
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • OxLEP Business
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
© 2022 OxLEP
Website by Indulge