Rehau expands its polymer district heating pipe range
Rehau is now able to supply polymer-based district heating solutions for larger projects in the UK following an exclusive deal with Aquatherm Sales UK.
The deal means that Aquatherm polypropelene (PP-R) pipes of 200mm to 315mm diameters can be supplied in the UK through Rehau. The deal comes at a time when demand is growing as district heating becomes a more widely-used technology. District heating is the concept of one large energy centre providing the heat demand for a number of properties: residential, commercial or multi-occupancy. The energy centre can use a variety of heat sources such as fossil fuels (e.g. gas CHP); energy from waste; or renewable sources such as heat pumps.
As a result of this deal with Aquatherm, Rehau can now offer PP-R spine pipes which can be used with its PE-Xa pipework. This creates a fully polymer solution, which offers benefits for clients as polymer pipes are durable, require no expansion bends and do not corrode.
Steve Richmond, head of marketing and technical at Rehau, says: “Customers are looking for a polymer solution for larger district heating installations. Now we have combined our expertise with Aquatherm we have combined our expertise and can offer this solution. Aquatherm has agreed to supply exclusively to us the larger diameter pipes so we can now offer more choice and tailored options to our district heating customers.”
Currently only around 2% of the UK’s heat is supplied via heat networks. However, in 2016 the Government announced £320 million of capital funding over the next five years to stimulate growth in the heat networks market. The first round of successful local authorities was announced in April 2017 when £24 million was allocated to nine projects.
Murdo MacDonald, managing director of Aquatherm Sales UK says: “We are delighted to sign this agreement with Rehau in the UK. We feel the companies’ strengths complement each other well with the many years’ experience we have of PP-R district heating pipes. We look forward to a successful partnership with Rehau.
