Glasgow-based Union Technical has provided pre-seed funding in Nusku, a Bristol-based start-up which aims to revolutionise how UK homes are heated.

Nusku, formed in 2022, has raised almost £1 million of investment in recent months.

This includes pre-seed funding from key figures within the energy sector, including Kate and Andy Rankin, the founders of wholesale renewable energy system distributor Midsummer Energy; Lee Sutton, founder of renewable energy product designer and manufacturer MyEnergi; as well as Owen Coyle, Suzanne Coyle and Michael Sweeney, directors at Union Technical.

Nusku was formed in 2022 after a casual chat over coffee about why heat pumps aren’t more popular led to its founder Russell Murchie taking a leap of faith and leaving his previous job to tackle the problem head-on.

Owen Coyle, director at Union Technical, said: “We see real potential for a large-scale rollout of this product as it is able to work with existing heating systems. Installs will be much quicker and less disruptive, which has been a major hurdle until now. Already, a number of social landlords and local authority partners are keen to be involved in pilot projects.”

Russell Murchie, founder at Nusku, said: “The idea for Nusku stemmed from a chat about why heat pumps are so popular in other countries, but not in the UK. There’s no real alternative to gas boilers at the moment in the UK, even though they will gradually be phased out and more environmentally friendly solutions are needed.

“Heat pumps have been promised as the alternative for more than 20 years, so why does a homeowner who could afford one not want one?

“We got talking about what needs to happen to change this, to give a better offering to UK homes and the idea for reinventing them began to form. We would like to extend our thanks to the team at Union Technical for their ongoing support in helping to bring our vision to life.”