Heat pump firm Aira making 'really good progress' on creating 100 jobs in Yorkshire

It said at the time it intended to open a Northern Academy alongside the All Seasons Energy site to train hundreds of heat pump installers for this region.

Aira bosses were asked about progress on the academy during an online webinar to launch its next generation heat pump products.

Matt Isherwood, service operations director, said: “We have doubled the space from All Seasons, we acquired the unit across the road.

"The academy is well under way. They are taking people to train through the academy as we speak.

"We will have a launch date for that in the next couple of months.

"With the 100 jobs, we are well under way with that. We have a number of install teams, clean energy experts, surveyors, designers and support teams all working out of Sheffield at the moment. Progress has been really good.”

Earlier in the webinar, Mr Isherwood was asked what the company’s ambitions are for the UK.

He said: “Our ambition is to install one million heat pumps over the next decade. This year our aim is to become the number one direct consumer installer in the UK and grow rapidly from there on.”

Aira’s business model sees the company manufacture, install and maintain heat pumps with zero upfront fees and a pay-monthly subscription similar to those seen with music and TV streaming services such as Spotify and Netflix.

Martin Lewerth, Aira Group Chief Executive Officer, said consumers can opt to have a heat pump installed on a 15-year deal with zero upfront costs covering installation, repair, maintenance and running expenses.

"The monthly cost will obviously vary from household to household. It is a bespoke system to some extent installing a heat pump – every house is different and every household has different needs.

"I would say the typical monthly payment for a UK household would be maybe £79 a month. I would say it is an affordable fee. Of course getting a financing solution in the end will be slightly more expensive than paying upfront. We are offering upfront payments and a monthly payment model.

"When we entered Italy, everyone told us Italians don’t like being in debt. But 75 per cent of everything we sell in Italy is sold with financing. I really think there is an untapped market here where there hasn’t been offers and solutions available.”

The Government aims to increase heat pump uptake to 600,000 installations a year by 2028 and has recently raised the grant to consumers buying one from £5,000 to £7,500. An average air source heat pump installation can cost between £10,000 and £13,000.

Around 90 per cent of British homes are suitable for heat pump installation but the National Infrastructure Commission has said the current speed of the roll-out is “not cutting the mustard” and more Government support may be needed to encourage people to switch from gas boilers as part of the national drive for net zero.