The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, visited Truro-based ground source heat pump manufacturer Kensa to hear from Cornish businesses driving green growth and investment.
She also took part in a roundtable to discuss their role in Britain’s energy transition.
During the visit, the Chancellor met with Kensa representatives and heard about the company’s approach to clean heat and its investment expansion plans for the next five years.
These include ramping up production and installation of heat pumps to 25,000 a year, growing its Cornish and wider UK workforce to 450 and creating hundreds more jobs in its UK supply chains.
As part of the discussion, Kensa welcomed the “positive policies” announced by the government in recent weeks, including a move to clean heating in new build homes, which Kensa is supporting through its partnership with GTC.
Also discussed were the commitment of £13.2 billion for the Warm Homes Plan and a plan to grow heat pump manufacturing as part of the Industrial Strategy.
Kensa also made clear that the next five years were “crucial for securing investment in UK heat pump manufacturing.”
The sector, it says, is “essential for delivering the full scale of opportunities presented by the energy transition and the upgrade of UK home heating.”
Kensa stressed the need to maintain the stability and policy momentum established so far on energy, giving heat pump manufacturers the market confidence needed to invest.
These discussions were followed by a roundtable at Kensa’s factory, where its heat pumps are made.
Attendees included the Chancellor; Kensa’s CEO, Tamsin Lishman; and representatives from Cornwall-based businesses with an active role in the green transition.
The companies represented included Geothermal Engineering, Celtic Sea Power, Eden Geothermal, Cornish Metals, and Naked Solar – with local MPs, Perran Moon and Jayne Kirkham; Cornwall Chamber of Commerce; and the National Wealth Fund also in attendance.
Discussions from the roundtable focused on Cornwall’s role in green growth, with a particular focus on the potential of geothermal heat and power, including Cornwall’s own natural resources.
The Chancellor also heard about the economic potential from floating offshore wind, creating new industrial growth.
The Chancellor was reportedly extremely keen to see how best to use the resources of the National Wealth Fund, the British Business Bank, and UK Export Finance to underpin industrial growth in Cornwall and help it reach its full potential.
The Chancellor’s visit follows Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s visit last year, where he joined local MPs Perran Moon and Jayne Kirkham.
Tamsin Lishman, Kensa CEO, comments, “Kensa sits at the heart of the government’s plans for green industrial growth, a proud Cornish manufacturer of ground source heat pumps and a nationwide installer of heat networks.
“Kensa has bold ambitions to invest and expand its workforce and operations over the next five years, making sure it fully plays its role in the delivery of green jobs and growth.
“I have been buoyed by the recent government announcements on the Future Homes Standard, major funding commitments for the Warm Homes Plan, and a clear plan to bolster heat pump manufacturing as part of the new Industrial Strategy.
“This is the policy platform we need for growth in Kensa and in Cornwall, and we look forward to working with the government to deliver it.”
Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, adds, “It was fantastic to visit Kensa today and hear their ambitious expansion plans first-hand. Companies like Kensa are crucial to transforming Britain into a clean energy superpower.
“Meeting with local energy leaders to discuss Cornwall’s role in green growth demonstrated exactly what our Plan for Change is about.
“We are backing British innovation, supporting homegrown energy, and putting money back in working people’s pockets through cheaper, cleaner energy.”
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