Riverside heat network

Connecting over 25,000 homes and businesses across the London Borough of Bexley and the Royal Borough of Greenwich to a low carbon heat network over the next ten years.

The Riverside Heat Network is a heat network in South East London coming into operation by 2026. Through our partnership with Energy-from-Waste operator Cory Riverside Energy,  the network will supply affordable, low carbon heating and hot water to the communities of Thamesmead and the wider boroughs. Customers connected to the heat network will benefit from an all-inclusive service with all servicing and maintenance included; better local air quality; dedicated monitoring and support; and expert customer care.

Aerial View of Thames Riverside

Crucially, Riverside heat network represents a future-proofed energy system. Buildings that currently use fossil fuels for heating will need to replace their systems to meet government targets. By connecting to the Riverside heat network, developments are future proofing their heating and hot water supply, as the heat network can connect to multiple low carbon and renewables heat sources after installation.

Video player requires marketing cookies.
To view this content please click here to allow marketing cookies.

Our collaboration with Cory is part of a long-term vision that Vattenfall has for a city-wide heat network across London, supporting four London boroughs with their transition to a low-carbon energy system. Like our heat network in Amsterdam, this heat network would expand to draw on local, low carbon heat sources via heat pumps from the air and water, data centres, and potentially sewerage waste. For households connected to the heat network, this would cut carbon emissions by 90% compared to retaining (soon to be outdated) gas boilers - a huge step towards fossil freedom.

How will the network deliver heat to homes and buildings?

 The Riverside heat network  will comprise a network of two sets of insulated underground pipes, carrying heated water from the local EfW plant to the heat customers (flow pipe) and then carrying the heat depleted water back to the EfW to be reheated (return pipe).  

The Energy Centre, also known as the Heat Transfer Station, will consist of the main operating plant and water treatment equipment to ensure longevity and reliability of the heat system as well as back up heat generating plant in the event of EfW outages.

Metering equipment in each substation measures the amount of heat consumed by each customer on the network and Vattenfall as the network operator levies appropriate charges for the heat consumed.  

Ready to engage

If you are a developer, landlord or a commercial business interested in moving away from gas boilers, enquire about a connection to the Riverside Heat Network today. To find out more, and join us on the journey to fossil freedom, please get in touch.

Get in touch

Who we help

Local authorities choose to partner with us because we bring an expert team, investment, v...

We help commercial and industrial organisations to reduce their carbon impact by capturing...

We provide reliable energy solutions for developments, that comply with local planning and...

Vattenfall designs tailored energy solutions for your estates and buildings, ensuring your...

Vattenfall provides reliable, fairly priced heating and hot water as part of an all-inclus...

Latest news on Riverside Heat Network

Vattenfall launches ambitious plan to heat London’s buildings without fossil fuels

On 21st September at London's iconic Tower Bridge, we outlined our ambitious vision to connect the equivalent of 500,000 homes in east London, saving up to 26 million tonnes of CO2 over 20 y...

Read the full article

Energy Minister visits what will be one of the UK’s largest heat networks

The Minister for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility, Lord Callanan, visited Cory’s Riverside Energy from Waste Facility in Belvedere. Vattenfall, in conjunction with Cory, w...

Read the full article

Using local, low carbon heat sources to deliver a city-wide heat network

UK cities need to transition to low carbon heat sources quickly and at scale. Heat networks can do just that by taking advantage of multiple heat sources, with customers benefiting from a re...

Read the full article

Why heat networks?

Child with feet on radiator

Most UK homes are heated using natural gas boilers, but there are far more resource-effici...

UK homes are being encouraged to move to low carbon heating, but what are the benefits?

Mother and daughter lying on bed reading magazine together

A heat network, also referred to as district heating, is a system of delivering heat to ho...

Man sitting on on rocks at beach at golden hour looking at camera

Heat networks are used in many parts of the world to deliver low carbon heat to homes and ...