Bringing knowledge
& experience together
As a trade association the GSHPA brings together over
160 members and interested parties from across the
heat pump installation industry to develop a strong,
dynamic and sustainable environment for heating and
cooling systems that are based on heat capture, heat
storage and heat transfer, including heat sharing
networks and demand side management.
Our Vision
At the GSHPA, we advocate the value of a combustion-free approach to meeting heating and cooling needs.
Ground Source Energy
Ground source energy at all scales reduces users’ bills, carbon
emissions and emissions of all noxious gases.
Energy Services
Such as a temporary reduction or increase in electricity demand, can
allow consumers to participate in the electricity system while reducing
the need for new energy infrastructure by better resource management.
District Heating
The supply of heat to homes and businesses through a network of
heat sharing pipes, can reduce heating bills in urban areas, and give
communities more control over their heating and cooling needs and
the timing of the supply of those needs.
Affordable Low Carbon Heating & Cooling
There is now a silver bullet which can deliver an affordable, secure and
low carbon heating and cooling system. By thinking about consumers
first, we can use a range of options to find the right solutions for the
right people in the right place at the right time.
Council Members
Laura Bishop
Chair
Laura is a chartered mechanical engineer, registered with the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. She has over 23 years engineering experience with a number of blue-chip companies including Rolls Royce and E.ON Connecting Energies. She runs Infinitas Design Ltd, a Derby-based independent renewable heat engineering consultancy where she undertakes the design and development of mainly heat pump, heat network and energy storage projects for a variety of commercial and industrial clients. A complete heat pump advocate, Laura is also a CIBSE Heat Network consultant and District Heat Diva.
Emma Bohan
Vice Chair
IMS Heat Pumps
Emma has had an interest in the heat pump industry since assisting with the start-up of a heat pump company in 2002 that sold out to a manufacturer in 2008. She has been working in the design, supply, install of heat pumps full-time since 2016, and is excited to see the market, and opportunities, expand for everyone.
Edward Thompson
Icax
Edward Thompson joined Mark Hewitt, an architect who has specialised in energy-efficient buildings for many years, and Andy Ford, a mechanical services engineer and founding partner of Fulcrum Consulting, who jointly developed the ideas that led to Interseasonal Heat Transfer, Thermal Banks and solar assisted ground source energy. This novel ICAX approach to harnessing ground source energy has provided innovative systems for supermarkets, schools, community centres and for maintaining roads free of ice and snow.
The current challenges for GSHPA members are to demonstrate the potential for GSHPs in District Heating, to learn how to exploit the opportunities presented by Demand Side Response – as well as to persuade BEIS to take the actions it knows it should to promote ground source energy as the key route to reducing carbon emissions from heating and cooling.
After reading science at Oxford, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant and working in finance, computing and venture capital Edward has specialised in helping young companies with new ventures.
Edward is also a director of the Ground Source Heat Pump Association
Andrea Ellison
Dragon Drilling
Natasha Wilkinson
Arup
Natasha leads Arup’s UK north region ground energy business and is a Chartered Geologist specialising in hydrogeology. Leeds based, Natasha has worked on a wide variety of UK and international projects, including Euston Station in London. Natasha has been involved in ground energy projects for over ten years, and assisted in drafting the GSHPA’s Closed-loop Vertical Borehole and Energy Pile Standards.
Natasha’s other project specialisms are groundwater resources, groundwater – surface water interaction and environmental impact assessment. She has a passion for environmental protection and climate change mitigation which drives her enthusiasm for GSHP technology.
Ken Kneale
Solid Energy
Ken has over forty years of experience in the commercial and industrial mechanical engineering industry and now represents Solid Energy in the UK and Ireland. He has a full understanding of the current market, the new technical advances, the regulation framework and the issues surrounding the ground source heat pump industry. He deals with both large and small consultancies and end users throughout the UK and has a very clear understanding of their expectations. He believes that it is important that the Council represents all sectors and he is able to put forward the views of a manufacturer.
Neil Lawson
GEO Energy
Neil Lawson is a specialist thermal engineer with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a 30 year career in the field focusing on improved efficiency and reducing pollution. Involved in domestic, commercial, process, petrochemical and utility scale applications. Since 2007 he has been involved in the GSHP industry firstly as Technical Director of ISO Energy developing efficient solutions for rural estates, exemplar green buildings and low carbon hotels using GSHP. Neil quickly identified the opportunity of simultaneous heating and cooling, pioneering its application. Since 2014 as Technical & Operations Director at Geothermal International moving into the integration of GSHPs with other low carbon technologies such as PV, solar thermal, CHP and waste heat for heating/cooling at the 72MW scale. He is a Director of Sandford Hydro CIC, who built the largest hydro on the Thames at 440kW, crowd funded from the community. He is a Non-Executive Director of Low Carbon Farming who built 2 World first greenhouses harvesting waste heat from final effluent discharge. Since 2011 Neil has been lobbying government on the benefits of the GSHP beyond the RHI.
John Findlay
Carbon Zero Consulting Ltd
John has over 30 years international geosciences and engineering experience ranging from oil exploration to water resource management. He is a Chartered Engineer and formed Carbon Zero Consulting in 2007 to provide independent technical design input to GSHC schemes. His mix of engineering, geology and borehole expertise is well suited to the complex demands of the open and closed loop GSHC market.
John has worked on some of the UK’s largest open and closed loop heating and cooling schemes as well as many high profile water supply projects. Both areas require sound knowledge of UK geology, hydrogeology, borehole techniques and the regulatory environment. John has provided input to develop GSHPA Standards, the BGS open loop screening tool, the CIBSE WSHP code of practice and the Environment Agency good practice guidelines.
Chris Davidson
GeniusEnergyLab
Chris graduated in Theoretical Physics at Imperial College before spending several years within the Ford Motor Company in Marketing and Business Process Engineering. In 2001 he co-founded GI Energy which grew to become the UK market leader in large scale ground source heat pump systems. As Chief Technical Officer Chris and his team took direct responsibility for over 200MW of system designs from initial feasibility to system prove out and ongoing monitoring.
Chris has been instrumental in working with the DECC to improve the Renewable Heat Incentive after launch. He has also provided training for CIBSE, Cambridge University, Oxford University and Imperial College covering topics from complex energy systems analysis to ground source heat pump system design.
Having founded GeniusEnergyLab in 2014 Chris now focuses on providing design, funding, policy and consulting advice on energy systems of all sizes.
Gareth Berry
Onsen Energy
I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with the GSHPA as a council member and feel my place on the council will be of value to new companies entering the industry, I would like to share the experiences and challenges we have faced over the past few years, helping others entering the industry and building on the great work the GSHPA do. In my opinion educating people in the correct way is key to a positive attitude towards ground source heating systems and the industry as a whole.
Paul Leedham
Matrix Energy Systems
Paul Leedham is a seasoned engineer and entrepreneur with a strong background in heating systems. With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Engineering, he has dedicated over 20 years to the heating industry, successfully transitioning from manufacturing to owning his installation and training businesses. Paul is a fervent advocate for the role of heat pumps in achieving net-zero targets. His expertise spans various Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) systems, and he believes in their potential to revolutionise heating technology.
Paul also played a pivotal role in developing the MCS Low Carbon Heating Technician Apprenticeship ans is involved in shaping the MCS curriculum for colleges and provides “Train the Trainer” programs to ensure quality education for students.
Vincent Bailey
As a young professional geologist, I have been fortunate to gain extensive experience in assessing, designing, supervising, and testing a variety of domestic, commercial, and district-scale closed-loop ground source heating and cooling systems. The ground-up understanding I developed while studying for a Master’s in Geology, combined with my hands-on industry experience, enables me to bring valuable insights and a fresh perspective to the GSHPA Council. This allows me to contribute effectively to the many important roles the Association plays within our industry.
Learning how to design robust ground source heating and cooling systems and seeing some of the largest systems in the country now ‘go live’ has kept my knowledge of thermogeology and hydrogeology on a learning curve since day 1. The need for better learning tools and a hands-on approach to design and testing are factors, among others, which I see undervalued by newcomers to our industry.As a Member of the GSHPA Council I will endeavour to help improve upon the geological learning and practices our industry has in place as well as advocating for and engaging with regulatory bodies to discuss and where possible refine new and upcoming working policies, practices and processes such as the General Binding Rules which will now begin to affect the installation of new closed loop systems cross the country.
Richard Warren
Kensa
Richard Warren is Director of External Affairs and Regulation at Kensa, the UK’s only manufacturer of Ground Source Heat Pumps and a pioneer in the concept of shared ground loops. At Kensa he is responsible for the organisation’s policy development and advocacy, helping to create the right environment for ground source and networked heat pumps in the UK. Prior to joining Kensa Richard had various roles in the manufacturing sector including steel, automotive, and food and drink, with a particular focus on energy, climate and trade policy.
Michael Moggeridge
Qvantum
Details to follow
Andy Howley
Ground Source Consult Ltd
Andy has been involved in the ground source energy industry for almost 30 years. He is a Certified Geo-Exchange Designer (CGD-AEE), an IGSHPA Accredited Installer and an IGSHPA Vertical Loop Installer. Prior to this Andy was involved in the well drilling industry as part of a family business going back 3 generations and thus has a vast knowledge of drilling for ground source systems.
A member of the UK’s GSHPA for many years Andy was responsible for the introduction of the original Vertical Borehole Standard (V1) and has worked on various other industry standards including thermal piles and shallow ground source standards. Andy has also worked on industry training requirements for the British Drilling Association including development and implementation of a Geothermal drilling module for the BDA apprenticeship scheme and was instrumental in developing a driller certification scheme for the BDA.
Stephen Bielby
Stephen Bielby is a consultant for the Ground Source Heat Pump Association (GSHPA) through his business, Craven Business Solutions. In this role, he provides strategic support to the association, focusing on operational management, event coordination, member liaison, and communication services. His work ensures the smooth running of GSHPA’s activities, from facilitating partnerships to promoting the association’s initiatives and assisting with the development of industry standards.
With a robust background in sales, events, and marketing, Stephen actively contributes to advancing renewable heating solutions in the UK. In November 2024, he authored an opinion piece titled “Bridging the Gap: Advancing Renewable Heating in the UK,” where he addressed critical challenges facing the industry, such as the skills shortage, the need for early education on renewable technologies, and strategies to make these solutions more attractive and affordable to consumers. This piece, published on Futurebuild.co.uk, exemplifies Stephen’s commitment to advocating for renewable heating technologies and his ability to engage with wider audiences on pressing industry issues.
Stephen has also represented GSHPA at various key industry events. For instance, he participated in the “Myth Busting Ground Source Heat Pumps” session at Futurebuild and at Emex for the past two years where he contributed to the dissemination of knowledge and promoted the benefits of ground source heat pump technology.
Stephen’s role at GSHPA also includes playing a central part in organising and supporting high-profile events, such as annual conferences, charity dinners, and technical seminars. These events raise awareness about ground source heat pumps and help further GSHPA’s goals of promoting renewable energy solutions. Additionally, Stephen has been instrumental in launching the GSHPA Training Academy, which offers courses designed to address the skills gap in the renewable energy sector and ensure the workforce is well-equipped to install and maintain heat pump systems.
Beyond these responsibilities, Stephen is deeply involved in many discussions and industry collaborations, ensuring that GSHPA’s voice is heard in key forums and that the association remains a prominent player in the drive towards a low-carbon heating and cooling future.
Rebecca Woodward
Rebecca has recently joined the team and is the GSHPA liaison for our drilling audit and offers administration support within the GSHPA team.
Activity and Focus
The work of the GSHPA sits within four areas:
Become a Member
The GSHP Association is the focal point for business interests in the ground source heat pump industry.
We represent the ground source heating & cooling industry, promoting sustainable use of heat pump technology and engaging with government and other bodies to influence relevant policymaking on behalf of our members.