The two have teamed up to deliver a low-cost renewable heating and cooling solution that could supply tens of thousands of new homes a year.

This new alignment comes as the market prepares to deliver an alternative to gas. Gas boilers will be banned in new build developments from next year under the Future Homes Standard, requiring all new homes to have low-carbon heating.

Under the agreement, GTC will provide the funded solution to housing developers, along with the design, borehole drilling, and network installation.

Kensa, which has pioneered networked ground source heat pumps in the UK, will add its expertise in infrastructure and design capabilities and supply its ‘shoe-box’ ground source heat pumps to fit each property.

Kensa’s compact ‘Shoebox’ heat pump will fit neatly under the water cylinder inside the home

The GTC and Kensa partnership, the largest to be agreed between a utility infrastructure provider and manufacturer, will bring significant scale, funding, and technical know-how,

The Networked Ground Source Heat Pump solution provides reliable home heating and hot water through a ground source heat pump installed in each property, connected to a shared network of hidden underground pipework, similar to what is installed for other utilities.

The partners claim that with up to five times the efficiency of gas and a 30% increased efficiency than an equivalent air source heat pump, ground source heat pumps require no extra electricity capacity, easing developer concerns about site grid capacity.

GTC chairman, Clive Linsdell, said: “A big challenge house builders face is additional grid capacity for low carbon technologies.

“This partnership brings an end-to-end heat, hot water, and cooling solution with the same power requirements as gas-heated homes.”