Mr. Tom Marren:

There is a lot of knowledge among our European partners that we need to bring in so that people understand that these heat pumps can produce temperatures in the higher ranges. We recently commissioned a new distillery in which the heat pumps are operating at 120°C. It is the first time a distillery that does not use fossil fuels has been built. It is also the first time that these heat pumps have been operated at 120°C in Ireland or the UK. The dairy sector is another really practical industry for us. We are involved in a project with a dairy processor that dries milk. We are going to reduce its gas consumption by nearly 60%. The interesting thing is that, when we consider its utility bills for the past three years, the payback period varies from just under three years to just over seven years. In terms of risk, this is now really practical. We have designed it and know what the capital costs are. This calculation, based on its actual utility bills, is now going to the board. It is a reduction of nearly 60% in the processor's gas consumption. That equates to 12,500 tonnes of a carbon offset a year, which is huge. However, we need to assist industry to take that risk. How can we go in front of boards and say that the payback period is two years, two and a half years or seven years? I do not know whether that provides any insight into the matter. There is great appetite but a significant programme of education is also required, as is consideration of how we can help industry to de-risk this operational cost.