Eight leading heat pump companies are calling for fundamental regulatory reform to enable the installation of 6.8million heat pumps by 2030.

In the report, leading manufacturers and installers of heat pumps expressed strong support for the role identified for heat pumps in the government’s Carbon Plan and Heat Strategy as a key technology that will enable decarbonisation of heat supply to individual buildings and bring down consumer fuel bills.

To this end, this group of companies believes the goals set out by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) in the fourth Carbon Budget are both essential and realistic.

The CCC recommended the deployment of around 2.6 million domestic heat pumps by 2025, rising to 6.8 million by 2030, in order to help reduce carbon emissions and reach EU reduction targets.

Currently, fewer than 15,000 domestic heat pumps are installed annually.

“Meeting the ambitious objectives of the 4th Carbon budget will be a challenge requiring considerable investment to develop the necessary infrastructure, technology improvements, supply chains and skills base,” said Tom Higgins, marketing manager for Ecuity Consulting who carried out the report.

The report argues that a long-term regulatory strategy must be put in place, alongside necessary investment, to encourage timely heat pump uptake.

Scale deployment will drive down capital costs to enable heat pumps to compete with conventional, carbon intensive heating options and transform them from a niche technology to a genuine mass-market product.

The current regulatory environment remains a source of uncertainty for the heat pump sector. The group of heat pump developers aspires to work with government to develop a solid regulatory plan that will allow the sector to move beyond subsidy by the end of this decade.

Tony Staniforth, specification sales director for Kingspan Renewables, said: “Kingspan Renewables is proud to be amongst the leading industry figures involved in the development of this report. We remain convinced of the unique capabilities of air source heat pumps, and are confident that with the right regulatory framework this technology will play a vital role in realising a truly zero carbon future in the UK.”