Imperial College London is home to over 20,000 students and members of staff across many campuses, and as well as upgrading equipment within the existing energy center at the South Kensington campus, Vital Energi will be decarbonizing multiple campus buildings, including the Central Library, Biochemistry, Engineering, City Guilds building, and the Sherfield Building, which is one of the largest on site.
The project received grant funding from the Public Sector Decarbonization Scheme (PSDS), which is administered by Salix Finance on behalf of the Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), formally part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
To make the campus more sustainable, Vital Energi will be replacing three 12MW steam generation boilers with 3 new 10MW efficient boilers, which will serve as the main source of heat generation in the Energy Center. From these a primary circuit of Medium Heat Temperature Hot Water (MTHW) will be installed to three main plate heat exchangers which will serve the entire campus, and then feed into the multiple buildings and faculty facilities. Vital will design and install the Medium Temperature Hot Water (MTHW) and Low Temperature Hot Water (LTHW) network which distributes water around the campus.
Rob Callaghan, Managing Director of Vital Energi’s London division, said, “Imperial College London is a world-class university in the heart of the city, and we’re delighted to be helping them make strides on their decarbonization journey. The College currently has 180oC steam in circulation around the campus and plant rooms, and we’re transitioning the site to low carbon heat and hot water through the replacement of legacy steam generating infrastructure, creating a 21st century energy center.”
“We’re pleased to have Vital’s expertise. Together we’ve a lot of hard work ahead,” added Nick Roalfe, Director of Estates Operations at Imperial College London.
Once the energy center is complete, it will serve heating and hot water to the whole campus.
Work has already commenced with an aim to be complete by winter 2023.
