The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published a heat pump net zero investment roadmap on 5 April 2023, setting out the government's heat pump policies and the investment opportunities it says the market offers1. The paper was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government1.
The roadmap states that by 2028 annual deployment of heat pumps is expected to reach at least 600,000 a year, which it says will require cumulative investment of up to £28 billion across the supply chain1. It also expects at least 300,000 heat pumps a year to be manufactured in the UK by 2028, and states there is already a pipeline of investment in UK heat pump and component manufacturing worth up to £1 billion1.
The government describes its support for the market as a package of policy measures, including targeted regulation, a new market-based mechanism for clean heat and public funding through schemes such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme1. Support for businesses is listed as including tax relief and export finance1.
"To support private sector investment, the government is providing extensive support to businesses, including tax relief and export finance, and is also launching a Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition, to strengthen local supply chains and create thousands of new low carbon jobs."
The roadmap is one of a series published as part of a refresh of the Green Finance Strategy1. The government's stated expectation of 600,000 installations a year by 2028 is the same figure that appears in the UK target for heat pump installations, and the paper sits alongside the wider set of UK heat pump policy, targets and the rules coming.
| Measure | Figure given in the roadmap |
|---|---|
| Annual heat pump deployment by 2028 | At least 600,000 a year |
| Cumulative supply chain investment required | Up to £28 billion |
| UK heat pump manufacturing by 2028 | At least 300,000 a year |
| Existing manufacturing investment pipeline | Worth up to £1 billion |
Why it matters for households
The roadmap is a statement of expected deployment and investment, not a change to the rules a household faces. Its practical relevance lies in the direction of travel it sets for the equipment installed in UK homes and for the supply chain that produces it. A target of at least 600,000 installations a year by 2028 implies a large increase in the number of homes running a heat pump rather than a gas boiler, and the expectation that at least 300,000 units a year are made in the UK points to domestic manufacturing capacity rather than imports alone.
For a household considering a heat pump, the roadmap confirms that public funding continues through schemes such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which is one of the routes listed in the heat pump grants and funding across the UK. The paper also refers to targeted regulation and a new market-based mechanism for clean heat, but does not set out in this document what those will require of individual homes. Energy independence for a household here means running space heating and hot water from a source that is not subject to gas supply and price movements, and the roadmap is a signal about how quickly the government expects that shift to happen rather than a change to any single home's options.
What happens next
The roadmap gives 2028 as the year by which annual deployment is expected to reach at least 600,000 heat pumps and UK manufacturing at least 300,000 a year1. The Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition is described as being launched to strengthen local supply chains1. No closing date, budget or eligibility detail for that competition is given in the published roadmap page.