The King’s Cross Group has secured £8.6m in construction funding from the government’s Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) to support the next phase of the district’s heating and cooling network.
The funding will help decarbonise the established heat network, serving one of the UK’s most established mixed-use neighbourhoods.
The King’s Cross Heating & Cooling Network is a central piece of the estate’s infrastructure, serving almost 2,000 homes and 44 buildings. Its reliable, low-carbon energy supports everything from workplaces and homes to cultural venues and public spaces, enabling the neighbourhood to operate seamlessly and evolve over time.
The funded project will support the transition of the network through a combination of ground and air source heat pumps, electric boilers and heat recovery from the existing cooling system, resulting in lower-carbon heating and cooling infrastructure.
This funding is said to demonstrate the positive impact of government and business collaborating to deliver decarbonisation at scale. At a time of continued energy market volatility, estate-wide investment in lower carbon infrastructure supports both emissions reduction and long-term energy resilience.
For King’s Cross, as the estate moves beyond its major development phase, the group is focused on the long-term stewardship of the neighbourhood: investing in the systems and infrastructure that allow the area to remain resilient and relevant long into the future.
The investment benefits occupiers across the estate, from offices to retail and hospitality, who are supported by landlord-backed progress on decarbonisation. By investing in the estate, King’s Cross says it can help its businesses make progress in a way that would be harder to achieve building by building, while also contributing to the quality of the environment their employees and customers experience every day.
Magnus MacAulay, head of portfolio operations at The King’s Cross Group, said: “With energy markets more volatile than ever, at scale investment in clean energy builds resilience, providing a double win on security of supply and decarbonisation.
“In partnership with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the funding means we can move faster in building lower-carbon heating and cooling infrastructure for homes, workplaces and public spaces across the estate, while also helping support the decarbonisation ambitions of our occupiers.”
Martin McCluskey, minister for energy consumers, said: “The conflict in the Middle East has shown once again why we must get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and onto clean, homegrown power we control.
“Heat networks will play a crucial role in that shift, lowering bills for whole communities while strengthening our energy security.
“That’s why we’re upgrading old and inefficient systems and investing in modern, low-cost networks fit for the future.”
King’s Cross is one of London’s largest and most significant mixed-use neighbourhoods, spanning 67 acres and bringing together homes, workplaces, retail, culture and public space in a single managed estate. The King’s Cross Group exists to ensure the area continues to evolve as a resilient, inclusive and globally relevant neighbourhood, bringing together innovation, experience and long-term custodianship.
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