We are proud to announce that Lars Fabricius, Managing Director of SAV Systems, has been named the UKDEA Heat Network Energy Champion of the Year at the 2025 UKDEA Heat Networks Expo.
This prestigious award recognises individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the heat network sector, demonstrating leadership, innovation, and a long-term commitment to driving forward the decarbonisation of heat in the UK. In recognising Lars, the judging panel highlighted not only his decades of service to the sector but also his recent work in establishing our sister company, EnergiRaven, as a bold and influential voice in both the industry and broader public discourse.
Championing a Smarter Heat Future
Lars has been a tireless advocate for heat networks as a key tool in the UK’s net-zero transition. Since 2012, he has led SAV Systems in delivering low-carbon heating technologies, from pioneering Heat Interface Units (HIUs) and Pressure Independent TRVs, to championing low-temperature network design.
However, the UKDEA Award was given not only in recognition of his technical leadership, but for his wider impact in shaping how heat networks are understood, valued, and planned – especially by government, local authorities, and consumers.
EnergiRaven: Turning Vision into Reality
A significant factor in Lars’ selection as Heat Network Energy Champion was his creation of EnergiRaven, launched in 2022 as both a digital EMS platform and thought leadership brand. While EnergiRaven’s RavenResidential solution supports more intelligent energy management within heat networks, the broader vision has always been about something bigger: achieving the lowest-cost sustainable heat.
EnergiRaven is dedicated to promoting best energy practices. Lars has particularly emphasised the need to design Heat Highways at scale: inter-city heat transmission infrastructure capable of delivering low-cost, low-carbon heat from rural sources (such as industrial waste heat, curtailed renewable electricity, and data centres) into densely populated urban areas.
Getting energy policy right is critical to our future.
Using energy efficiently is key to our nation’s prosperity. Raven-i whitepapers, national media publications, and numerous videos have championed the need for strategic heat planning. Today’s energy infrastructure decisions will live with us for generations. And so, we need to get them right! Local heat zones should not be islands; they should be part of larger heat infrastructures that access the lowest-cost heat sources and support grid flexibility, energy storage, and industrial decarbonization.
Initiatives such as “Waste Not, Want Not”, “Green Energi Havens”, and the award-winning “Heat Highways” campaign have each contributed to a step-change in how the UK views its heat future. Notably, the Heat Highways campaign has
already catalysed the creation of a detailed and costed plan for how rural East Lothian could be “exporting” large amounts of its plentiful waste heat to warm Edinburgh via a regional-scale heat transmission system. The model is based on best practice, lowest-cost heat infrastructure planning from Denmark. The report was written by the Copenhagen-based consultancy Viegand Maagøe.
A Vision Grounded in Practicality
As a Danish-born business leader who has made the UK his home, he draws on decades of experience working with best-in-class manufactures, technology solutions and system designs. But what sets his work apart is how he applies tried-and-tested Danish practices to an approach that fits the UK’s unique policy and urban context.
By linking government, industry, and the public with a shared vision of green heat grids, Lars has helped to accelerate not just technology adoption, but the very culture shift required to build heat networks at scale.
A Future Where No Heat is Wasted, and No Home is Cold
Lars continues to drive EnergiRaven forward as a platform for collective progress. He remains committed to helping the UK deliver on its potential: a future where no heat is wasted, surplus renewable electricity is stored as heat, cities are connected to vast reservoirs of clean energy, and where people enjoy affordable, resilient, and decarbonised heating.
Everyone at SAV Systems would like to congratulate Lars on this well-deserved recognition. It is a reflection not only of his leadership, but of his long-held belief that heat must be brought to the centre of the energy conversation.
Heat Highways – Energy Campaign of the Year at the Energy Awards 2024
The Heat Highways Campaign was launched in response to the UK’s Heat Network Zoning policy. While the policy was a welcome step, concerns arose that the UK might repeat some of the early missteps Denmark made in its heat network journey, namely building many isolated systems without long-term regional integration.
Over the past three years, the campaign has championed the idea of inter-city heat transmission highways, large-scale infrastructure that transports affordable, low-carbon heat harvested from surrounding regions. These systems utilize waste heat, excess renewable electricity, and stored thermal energy, enabling towns and cities to connect along the route.
To date, 11 regional heat highway maps have been developed, offering local authorities and policymakers a vision for how large-scale heat transmission could transform heating across towns, cities, and regions throughout the UK.
Learn more about EnergiRaven and Lars’ work on Heat Highways and green heat grids:
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