The substantial 14,494sq. ft Springkerse Industrial Estate facility will act as the central hub for serving Scottish customers. It will be followed, in 2025, by the opening of the company’s first Scotland-based Aira Academy. Located in the same place, the academy will deliver training for the Aira sales team, designers, installers, electricians and all those involved in heat pump installations, throughout Scotland.
The launch of the hub, on Friday, 20 September, was attended by Evelyn Tweed, Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Stirling. It is part of a £300 million UK investment by the company as it delivers plans to create 8,000 new jobs over the next decade, and become Scotland’s heat pump market leader.
Stirling was selected by Aira due to its excellent central position with connections to Aberdeen and Angus, as well the Scottish Borders. It has good access to all major highways, enabling the company to serve the vast majority of mainland Scotland from one place.
Founded in Sweden, Aira has been working closely with Scottish Enterprise for both the hub launch and the planned training centre in. The Stirling facility also includes a showroom, allowing customers to ‘walk in off the street’ and experience a heat pump first-hand.
Growing consumer interest
According to market research, commissioned by Aira ahead of their investment in the region, 32% – nearly 1.5 million Scots – are considering the installation of a heat pump to provide efficient, sustainable heating in the years to come. This shows that consumer interest in alternative home energy heating solutions, such as heat pumps, is rapidly growing across the country.
The Aira heat pump comes with a 15-year guarantee and, thanks to the company’s heat-as-a-service monthly payment package, zero upfront costs. The clean energy leader has also launched two new energy tariffs, allowing customers to enjoy annual savings of £500 on average, with the Aira heat pump and the Aira Zero tariff, and up to £1245 when combined with solar panels with Aira Solar Export, compared to people who still depend on gas boilers.
The Scottish Government has set a national target of installing 200,000 heat pumps per year by the end of the decade. In 2022, the government launched The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme to help Scottish households replace their gas or oil boiler with a new heat pump. They are also working on the Heat in Buildings Bill which is expected to support households and communities with reducing their emissions.
Accelerating Scottish adoption
Aira’s new Scotland base will be led by Nicola Mahmood, a Sustainability and Net Zero Transition leader with 25 years’ experience of working in the Scottish energy sector.
Nicola said: “I’m delighted to welcome Evelyn to open Aira’s first hub in Scotland. Today marks a historic milestone in the company’s continued expansion throughout Europe, as we continue our mission to take Europe off gas.
“The Stirling hub will also become a centre of excellence for Aira in Scotland, where we will train the next generation of heat pump installers and provide green skills training to the local community. It’s encouraging to see increasing consumer demand, but we need to unlock essential barriers to grant and loan access to truly accelerate adoption across Scotland.”
Evelyn Tweed, SMP, commented: “Aira is one of Europe’s fastest growing clean energy-tech companies, and it’s great to see that they have chosen Stirling as the base for their Scottish operations.
“This will mean dozens of new jobs for the local community today – potentially hundreds as the business grows – and an exciting career ahead for the next generation of heat pump installers. The Scottish Government has an ambitious target to convert thousands of homes from fossil fuel heating to cleaner alternatives such as air source heat pumps. If we achieve that goal, we will not only help to make energy more affordable and secure for all Scots but become one of the most energy efficient countries anywhere in the world.
“Many people living in rural areas are not on mains gas and pay a great deal for alternative sources of energy, so a greener, cheaper alternative is welcome.”
Image credit: Aira