Colloide

Our District Heating and Cooling Systems are a smart choice for businesses and communities saving energy, cutting costs and protecting the environment. Our experience in the energy sector ranges from district heating networks through to heat recovery and biomass heating solutions. We design and build the district heating and cooling networks to include the pumps, pipework, thermal stores, instrumentation, control systems, local substations, heat exchangers and communication through a central control system – building in as much flexibility as possible. Colloide were the principal design and build contractor on the Bunhill 2 Energy Centre Project, a world-first scheme where the heat from the underground train network is captured and utilised to heat a further 550  homes and a primary school in Islington. The new energy centre uses state-of-the-art technology on the site of a disused Underground station that commuters have not seen for almost 100 years. The remains of the station, once known as City Road, have been transformed to house a new 500Kw ammonia heat pump driven by the heat recovery from a heat exchanger coil within a London underground shaft, recovering the warm air lost throughout the northern line tube. In addition, the two-metre fan, installed in an existing six-storey London Underground mid-tunnel ventilation shaft, can also be reversed to help with cooling the Tube tunnels in the summer months. The utilisation of two natural gas CHP units with a combined output of 700Kw and district heat pipework of 1800m’s allows a further 550 homes and a primary school to be connected to the existing Bunhill Heat and Power district heating network which was launched in 2012, with the potential to supply up to 2,200 homes. This project reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 500 tonnes each year and cuts heating bills for those connected by 10%. The Viking Energy Network Jarrow is another notable project where Colloide, as South Tyneside Council’s Principal Contractor, aimed for carbon neutrality. This unique district heating system is a country first. Colloide designed and constructed an energy centre at Jarrow Staithes, strategically located on the south bank of the River Tyne. This state-of-the-art facility houses the water source heat pump, acting as the heart of the operation. The process involves extracting heat from the river, raising its temperature, and converting it into hot water. The hot water is then distributed to connected buildings through a network of buried district heating pipes, efficiently and effectively meeting their heating needs. The multi-million pound energy network will slash annual carbon emissions by an estimated 1,035 tonnes and saves approximately half a million pounds in fuel costs each year. This groundbreaking district heating system supplies hot water to 11 buildings, including high-rise flats, schools, and sheltered housing. The initiative received many nominations and awards including; Best Climate Action or Decarbonisation Initiative at the 2024 Association of Public Sector Excellence (APSE) Awards and Won in the Public Sector Project category at the RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) 2024.