World News

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.

SWEDEN: Swegon has produced two functioning prototypes of its Gold air handling unit in wood.