A green energy innovator based in Elland, Yorkshire, FeTu has announced a £1.5 million investment in a new manufacturing facility in Huddersfield. The new site will help the company meet increasing demand from industrial manufacturers and other businesses for its pioneering waste heat recovery technology, which converts low-grade waste heat into electricity at unprecedented efficiency levels.
Founded in 2016 by Yorkshire-born designer Jon Fenton, FeTu’s award-winning technology recovers waste heat from temperatures as low as 40°C—levels often found in industrial environments such as data centres and manufacturing plants. The waste heat is then converted into electricity, significantly reducing energy costs and carbon emissions for businesses.
With 15 employees and plans to recruit additional manufacturing engineers, FeTu’s new facility will allow the firm to produce components for its energy motor in-house. This will help ensure quality control and eliminate delays previously caused by outsourcing essential parts from external suppliers.
FeTu’s CEO and founder, Jon Fenton, described the decision to bring manufacturing in-house as critical to the company’s growth and to ensuring the swift rollout of its groundbreaking clean energy technology. “The cost, speed of delivery, and quality of outsourced parts were holding back our pilot programme, so we’ve taken control of the manufacturing process,” Fenton explained. “Our team has over 100 years of manufacturing expertise, so we are more than prepared to meet this challenge and lead FeTu into its next chapter.”
FeTu has secured over £12 million in sponsorship, investment, and grants since its inception. The new manufacturing arm will allow the company to expand the commercial rollout of its technology to a wider range of industrial partners. A pilot programme is set to launch this autumn, with participants including data centres, manufacturers, and food production facilities in Yorkshire, across the UK, and throughout Europe.
FeTu’s technology offers an efficiency advantage of over 300% compared to current waste heat recovery systems. The ability to generate electricity from temperatures below 100°C opens up new possibilities for renewable energy sources such as geothermal and solar power, Fenton noted.
“Our technology provides an important new tool in the fight against climate change,” he said. “By converting low-grade waste heat into electricity at such efficient levels, we can help businesses drastically reduce their operating costs and carbon emissions. This could mark a significant turning point for sustainable energy.”
The potential impact of FeTu’s innovation extends far beyond individual businesses. In the UK alone, low-grade waste heat represents a £4 billion annual opportunity. Recovering just 25% of this heat and converting it into electricity could offset the combined power output of both Drax and Hinkley C power stations, reducing the UK’s annual carbon emissions by 80 million tonnes – equivalent to 20% of the country’s current total.
FeTu has also developed an online calculator to help businesses assess their own waste-heat-to-electricity potential, further supporting the adoption of its innovative technology in industries across the UK and beyond.