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Coventry University’s net zero target moving closer with connection to city’s district energy network
The first works will begin around the Sir Frank Whittle building and the Student Centre
University news
Thursday 31 July 2025
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Work is set to begin on connecting several Coventry University buildings to the city’s district energy network.
A total of 11 university buildings will be joined to the network - a 6.6km underground system that transports heat from the city’s waste incinerator to supply energy to major public buildings – which has only one sixth of the carbon emissions of natural gas.
It is part of Coventry University’s efforts to be net zero by 2030 having been awarded a grant of almost £13million from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which is funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and delivered by Salix Finance Limited.
The grant has also seen around 800 solar panels installed across the city centre campus to help generate energy and reduce emissions, and it is hoped the full project could reduce the Group’s carbon emissions by more than 1,300 tonnes per year – more than a fifth of its annual carbon emissions arising from the use of fossil fuels.
The buildings being connected to the district energy network are:
- The Hub
- Alma building
- Cycle Works
- Elm Bank
- Sir Frank Whittle
- Student Centre
- Charles Ward
- George Eliot
- Priory building
- Priory Hall block H
- Priory Hall block J
The works get underway on Monday, 4 August, starting at the Sir Frank Whittle building and neighbouring Student Centre. Pedestrian access will still be available around the buildings while works take place over the next few weeks.
This will be followed by activity across the city centre in the coming months, which could see some roadworks until the project is completed in spring 2026.
Our efforts to be net zero by the end of the decade are moving along at pace and connecting our buildings to the city’s district energy network is the next step in that aspiration.
There may be some disturbance to people travelling around parts of the city centre, however these will be kept to a minimum and the works, once complete, will benefit the city as a whole, not just the university.
Mark Cammies, Chief Executive of Coventry University Enterprise Ltd
Find out more about Coventry University’s sustainable development.
