Bristol Airport announces ‘largely unprecedented’ 22-heat pump installation
Bristol Airport is investing £10 million into a heat-pump-based energy centre, which will see gas boilers removed from the terminal entirely.
The company said it was the first UK airport to commit to net zero operations by 2030 and will now be one of the first UK airports to remove gas boilers.
The new energy centre will incorporate 22 air-source heat pumps and an electric boiler to heat and cool the main terminal buildings and the terminal extensions, in a move which the Airport said is largely unprecedented at this scale. Going electric will save around 625 tonnes of CO2e a year, equivalent to powering 77 homes.
Currently, gas represents 45% of the airport’s Scope 1 emissions and account for 17% of its total operational footprint (Scope 1 and 2), which also includes electricity consumed and procured by the Airport.
Hannah Pollard, Head of Sustainability at Bristol Airport said:
This is a true milestone for Bristol Airport and is testament to the Airport’s commitment to lowering its carbon footprint. Decarbonising buildings is one of the three key pillars to achieving net zero operations by 2030, alongside our transition to electric vehicles and investing in renewable energy.”
The Airport’s 2023 sustainability strategy set an interim target for 2027 to reduce carbon emissions by 73%, compared to pre pandemic levels in 2019. It already has heat pumps in place serving several locations but the new project will see heating/cooling pipes laid underground to connect to the terminal basement. Work is set to begin this spring.
The company added that while the energy centre is a complex build, the modular design is relatively straightforward and will be built offsite and installed near the Hampton by Hilton hotel in the early Autumn, with completion expected ‘before winter.’
