The project will enable it to conduct deep research into the ZEB’s core technology, with a focus on optimising it for high volume manufacture. The Innovate UK funding package, granted as part of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership programme, is part of a £7m scheme to support British foundation industries.

Tepeo says the ZEB is an easily-installed, affordable electric alternative that works with any thermostat and matches the high temperature and power performance of gas or oil boilers for domestic heating purposes. The ZEB’s combination of electric heating and thermal storage works together with its intelligent controls so that the electricity needed for heating is only consumed at the cheapest and greenest times of the day – the energy is then efficiently stored until needed.

ZEBs are currently only available for immediate purchase locally to the company’s headquarters in Berkshire but demand is high and growing rapidly nationwide so the
company plans to expand its coverage later this year.

Johan du Plessis, founder and CEO, said: “Tepeo is leading the way in developing compact sensible heat storage technology for domestic use and we are delighted to have been recognised as such. This research is a vital step toward enabling large scale adoption of our ZEB technology and we are building a great project team to achieve it.

"As the nation works towards net-zero, renewables must play a significant role but in 2020 the National Grid spent over £280m on curtailing wind generation because energy storage was simply not available – devices like the ZEB will play a huge role in reducing and hopefully eliminating this wastefulness.”