China’s largest building firm has agreed a £1.1bn deal with a UK energy firm to build thousands of zero-carbon affordable homes across the UK.

The deal will see China National Building Materials and WElink Energy initially commit £800m as part of a strategic framework that will see 8,000 affordable homes delivered in the next five years.

The houses will be built under the Barcelona Housing System (BHS), a system of offsite manufacturing pioneered by architects Cesar Martinell & Associates that develops affordable homes with zero water usage and zero waste.

The first 4,000 units are set to be delivered between 2016 and 2018; a further 4,000 units will follow, although a start date has not yet been given for the second tranche of work.

It is expected that the planned locations for the projects will be announced next week.