World News

POLAND: Energy producer PGNiG Termika SA and the Warsaw Municipal Water and Sewage Company (MPWiK) have signed agreements to build one of the largest sewage heat pump installations in the EU. 

SWEDEN/TURKEY: Systemair has acquired the remaining shares in Turkish air handling units manufacturer HSK.

JAPAN/VIETNAM: Hoshizaki, the Japanese manufacturer of commercial food and beverage refrigeration equipment, has acquired a majority shareholding in Vietnamese company Asia Refrigeration Industry (ARICO).

UK: Vertiv has invested in centrifugal chiller technology with the acquisition of certain assets of BiXin Energy Technology (Suzhou) Co (BSE).

NETHERLANDS/IRELAND: Mitsubishi Electric Europe is to acquire all the shares of its Irish agent – air conditioning installation and maintenance company Crystal Air Holdings Ltd.

EUROPE: The foodservice industry has obtained a temporary exemption to a January 1 ban on certain self-contained refrigeration equipment under the new European F-gas regulations.

BELGIUM: The European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) has suggested that nearly all European countries could bring in more fiscal measures to support the uptake of heat pumps.

INDIA: Daikin’s Indian subsidiary is to form a joint venture with Taiwanese compressor company Rechi Precision to manufacture and sell rotary inverter compressors for the Indian air conditioning market.

CANADA: Researchers in Canada have found that HFC125, a high GWP gas and a major component of air conditioning refrigerant R410A, has increased exponentially in the past 20 years.

NEW ZEALAND: Authorities in New Zealand have reported the seizure of three tonnes of HFCs in an ongoing crackdown on illegal imports.

JAPAN/USA: Mitsubishi Electric will begin US production of variable-speed heat pump compressors in October 2027, following the $143.5m retrofit of its Kentucky-based auto parts factory.

SPAIN: Daikin is relocating its Tewis commercial refrigeration factory following October’s floods in Valencia that damaged the company’s production facilities. 

FINLAND: The European Chemical Agency’s (ECHA) assessment of PFAS in fluorinated gases, which threaten further restrictions on HFC refrigerants, are now scheduled to be discussed at meetings in March.

EUROPE: Prices of R448A and R449A refrigerants, the lower GWP replacements for R404A, experienced price rises of 10% and 6%, respectively, in the third quarter of 2024.

MALAYSIA: A 5.2MW solar power generation system installed at Panasonic’s air conditioning factory in Malaysia is expected to provide approximately 20% of the facility’s electricity requirement.

USA: Researchers in the USA claim to have developed a magnetocaloric heat pump that matches current vapour compression heat pumps for weight, cost and performance.

USA/IRELAND: Carrier Ventures, the investment arm of the Carrier Global Corporation, is reported to have invested €15m in a company developing a world-first emission and refrigerant-free heat pump.

ITALY/SPAIN: The Giordano Riello International Group (GRIG), owner of Aermec, has acquired the Spanish air conditioning companies Airlan SA and Airlan Industrial SA. 

POLAND: Panasonic has completed the acquisition of Polish refrigeration equipment manufacturer Area Cooling Solutions Sp zoo, a subsidiary of the Barcelona-based distribution business.

SPAIN: Barcelona-based refrigeration and air conditioning supplier Area Cooling Solutions has been acquired by Belgian company IPCOM, while finalising the sale of its Polish condensing unit factory to Panasonic. 

FRANCE: A new report highlights the transformative role of hydrocarbons (HCs) in domestic heat pumps, their current status and a European market overview.

JAPAN: Hoshizaki is to complete its transition to “natural” refrigerants in the Japanese market with upgrades to its commercial refrigerator, freezer, and refrigerator-freezer models.

ITALY/CHINA: Italian heat exchanger manufacturer Lu-Ve has officially opened the extended facilities at its Chinese production plant in Tianmen. 

JAPAN: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has received a Japanese government climate action award for its JHT-Y/JHT-YI series of large-capacity centrifugal chillers using R1234yf. The Minister of…

ITALY: Compressor manufacturer Frascold is participating in a Danish-led project to showcase the effectiveness of ultra-high-temperature heat pumps in cutting-edge industrial applications.

BELGIUM: Close to 350 tonnes of HFCs and ozone depleting substances were seized during an eight-week crackdown this year by 110 worldwide customs organisations.

DENMARK: A CO2-based seawater heat pump, said to be the world’s largest, has commenced operation supplying district heating networks in Esbjerg.