Aira: Swedish heat pump firm unveils £300m plans for 8,000 installers and Northern Academy in Sheffield

A Swedish clean energy firm with a base in Sheffield has unveiled plans to invest £300m and create 8,000 jobs.

Aira plans to set up academies to train fitters and says its Northern Academy will be in Sheffield. Its ambition is to switch one million homes from gas boilers to heat pumps over the next decade.

The firm established a foothold in the UK in August when it bought All Seasons Energy, on Meadowbrook Park, Halfway, pledging to create more than 100 jobs and apprenticeships.

It says the 8,000 jobs will be spread around the country but one of the main hubs will be in Sheffield, which will train thousands of ‘Aira Clean Energy Experts’.

Martin Lewerth, group chief executive, said just one per cent of UK homes had heat pumps. The Government’s target is to increase uptake to 600,000 installations a year by 2028.

He added: “We are confident our offering and value proposition, which includes substantial consumer cost savings, no need for lifestyle changes, and a zero upfront payment model, will be well-received. We are here to accelerate the important transition from dirty gas boilers to clean heat pumps.”

An Aira heat pump could cut heating bills by 25 per cent and lower CO2 emissions by 75 per cent, rising to 100 per cent with green electricity, he added.

Energy security secretary Claire Coutinho said: “Families should not have to choose between cutting costs and cutting emissions which is why we increased our Boiler Upgrade Scheme by 50 per cent to £7,500 grants – making our scheme one of the most generous in Europe.

“Our plan is working, and we are seeing an increase in applications. It’s fantastic that Aira is investing £300m in the UK heat pump market to help further rollout.”