A sustainable energy start-up which aims to play a big role in driving an electric heat pumps revolution has raised millions of pounds in funding to expand its network of installers.
Sky News understands that Heat Geek, which was previously called Skoon Energy, will this week announce that it has secured a seed funding round worth £3.7m.
The round, which will be announced publicly on Friday, takes the total amount of money raised by Heat Geek in the last 12 months to just over £4m.
Heat Geek was set up to drive growth in the number of carbon-friendly electric heat pumps being installed, with figures showing that just 25,000 were fitted in private homes last year.
The government has set a target of 250,000 installations annually, but with only 3,000 qualified heat pump installers out of a 120,000-strong army of gas engineers, Heat Geek estimates that there will need to be a ninefold increase in the number installing electric heat pumps.
The company provides engineers with a ‘business in a box’, facilitating training, technology provision and access to a pipeline of paying customers.
“Heat Geek is built to support engineers running their own businesses at the heart of communities across the country,” Adam Chapman, the company’s founder, said.
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“Our focus is empowering local heating engineers that have been keeping homeowners warm for decades.
The company has struck partnerships with OVO Energy and Resi, a digital renovation and extension service.
Heat Geek’s fundraising was led by Transition, with Triple Point Ventures also participating alongside a number of angel investors and a number of its engineers.
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Kristian Branaes, a partner at Transition, said: “Decarbonising heat is one of the biggest opportunities within climate today, but the market is held back by the lack of qualified installers.
“Heat Geek is the only company we’ve seen across Europe and the US that has a credible plan for how the industry can transform from within – by building on the incredible community that Adam and the Heat Geeks have already created and using technology to help it scale.”
