NetZero Group, a decarbonisation services provider set up by Waterland Ireland, plans to double its workforce to more than 2,000 and its annual revenues to €400 million by the end of the decade, a target that matters to installers, investors and policymakers because it shows how much delivery capacity one operator expects Irish home-energy upgrades to require.

NetZero Group is a building decarbonisation services provider that describes itself as Ireland’s leading provider of such services, with 1,000 employees and subcontractors across 14 locations, about 7,300 heat pumps installed over the last year, mostly in new-build homes, and about 3,400 retrofit projects completed.

Waterland Ireland is the Irish arm of Dutch private-equity firm Waterland, which has backed several platform companies over the last decade.

NetZero began as a merger of O’Connor Heating & Plumbing and Gaffney Mechanical, then added Caldor Solar, a Kildare solar PV installer, and Zetta Home Services, a Louth provider of tech-enabled heat pumps, and says it delivered 20,000 heat pumps over four years.

A multi-million euro investment is planned without precise details, and NetZero expects to complete further strategic capabilities in the coming months that will extend its geographic reach.

Rory O’Hanlon, chief executive of the NetZero Group, said: “We believe demand for building decarbonisation will increase significantly over the coming years as more homeowners and businesses move beyond simply replacing ageing oil and gas boilers and instead invest in lower-carbon heating and energy solutions. Government support, rising energy awareness and the transition away from fossil fuel heating are creating a significant long-term growth opportunity.”

Delivery still trails the target: just 19,583 heat pumps were installed in existing homes between 2020 and July 2026, or 4.9% of the 400,000 goal for 2030.

By the end of 2024, deep retrofits had reached 57,932, or 11.5% of the 500,000-home target, according to an ESRI review of SEAI data.

Grant support is lifting demand: the National Residential Retrofit plan offers up to €12,500 towards a heat pump, and applications have risen almost 100% this year.

For the sector, one operator’s 20,000 heat pumps over four years sits against a national target of 400,000 in existing homes, showing how much installer capacity must still be added.

Source: Irish Independent / Irish Examiner / ESRI