Bradford Energy Network

Having secured £20m of Green Heat Network Funding, planning permission, and our first customers—1Energy has started building our first low-carbon heat network in Bradford. When completed in Summer 2027, the £70m project will generate heat using one of the largest air source heat pumps in the UK. 

Location Bradford, West Yorkshire
Phase Under construction
Bradford city centre

Putting Bradford at the forefront of the worldwide movement towards net zero cities and towns.

Bradford Energy Network is delivering rapid decarbonisation of heat in the city of Bradford – reducing connected customers’ heating emissions from the first day of connection, with an initial focus on large-scale buildings.

Supporting the local community, the Bradford Energy Network will generate enough low-carbon heat to supply the equivalent of roughly 10,000 homes. The network will provide a 75% reduction in emissions during the first phase of the project – which will run until 2030 – with aims to further reduce emissions afterwards.

Buildings connected to the Bradford Energy network will have their gas boilers removed, dramatically improving local air quality by avoiding localised combustion of fossil fuels.

Drone shot of Bradford Energy Network construction

May 2025

Heat network construction complete

March 2026

Energy Centre construction complete

July 2026

Heat supply to phase 1 customers commences

Our Impact

Creating affordable, cleaner heating for Bradford

75%

Less CO2 per kWh than traditional heat sources, such as gas boilers.

£70m

Invested into delivering the Bradford Energy Network, empowering the city to achieve its climate goals.

10,000

Homes equivalent supplied with low-carbon heat through the Braford Energy Network.

What are heat networks?

As an alternative to individual boilers or electric heaters, heat networks are essential for reducing carbon emissions and enabling a healthier, net zero future.

If you’re interested in finding more detail about what they are, how they work and why they are valuable, check out our page below.

Two men in construction gear looking at a pipe in a heat network

Frequently asked questions

The Bradford Energy Network will significantly decarbonise heating across Bradford, making a vital contribution to the city’s net zero targets and the council’s sustainable development goals. The network will reduce organisations’ heating emissions by at least 75% from the first day of connection, compared to gas boilers. 1Energy have an ambition to make the network net zero by 2030.

 

By providing the foundations for a net zero city, the network can also attract employers and inward investment to  Bradford – boosting clean growth.

 

In addition, the network would become a major pillar of Bradford’s ‘smart energy’ strategy, enabling city leaders to better engage developers, stimulating inward investment, attracting regeneration projects, and demonstrating the city’s credentials as the UK’s leading clean growth district.

The private sector-funded Bradford Energy Network offers the lowest cost route to achieving Bradford’s climate targets.
1Energy will be financing the vast majority of the project’s delivery from its dedicated fund, the District Heating UK (DHUK) Fund. The DHUK Fund has the highest ESG credentials according to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulations, giving customers confidence that the Bradford Energy Network is exemplar in the field of low-carbon heat networks.

 

The project will also be part-funded by a £20m grant from the UK Government’s Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) – a capital grant fund that opened to applicants in 2022 to support the delivery of new heat network projects.

The Bradford Energy Network will cut carbon emissions and provide accessible heat for the city of Bradford. The heat network will reduce organisations’ heating emissions by at least 75% from the first day of connection, compared to gas boilers. 1Energy have an ambition to make the network net zero by 2030.

 

The Bradford Energy Network will also significantly reduce air pollution in the city, improving local air quality by replacing gas boilers with low-carbon heat.

 

The network will deliver a healthier, net zero future for Bradford –  enhancing quality of life across the city.

1Energy have already begun construction of the Bradford Energy Network. The network will start supplying low-carbon heat to organisations across the city from summer 2026.

Bradford contact