World News
21st December 2024
Hoshizaki takes 51% stake in Vietnamese company
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).
20th December 2024
Vertiv acquires centrifugal chiller technology
UK: Vertiv has invested in centrifugal chiller technology with the acquisition of certain assets of BiXin Energy Technology (Suzhou) Co (BSE).
20th December 2024
Mitsubishi Electric buys Irish agent
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.
19th December 2024
Foodservice equipment wins F-gas exemption
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.
18th December 2024
EU could do more to support heat pumps
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.
17th December 2024
Daikin forms Indian compressor JV
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.
17th December 2024
High GWP refrigerant increases in the atmosphere
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.
16th December 2024
Three tonnes of illegal HFCs seized in NZ
NEW ZEALAND: Authorities in New Zealand have reported the seizure of three tonnes of HFCs in an ongoing crackdown on illegal imports.
13th December 2024
US plant will produce 1 million heat pump compressors per year
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.
10th December 2024
Tewis moves Valencia factory after recent flooding
SPAIN: Daikin is relocating its Tewis commercial refrigeration factory following October’s floods in Valencia that damaged the company’s production facilities.
9th December 2024
PFAS in refrigerants to be discussed in March
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.
9th December 2024
Prices of R448A and R449A increase in Q3
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.
8th December 2024
AC plant benefits from 5.2MW solar array
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.
8th December 2024
Making magnetocalorics a match for heat pumps
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.
6th December 2024
Carrier invests in solid-state heat pump
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.
6th December 2024
Aermec owner acquires Spanish distributor Airlan
ITALY/SPAIN: The Giordano Riello International Group (GRIG), owner of Aermec, has acquired the Spanish air conditioning companies Airlan SA and Airlan Industrial SA.
5th December 2024
Panasonic completes Area Cooling purchase
POLAND: Panasonic has completed the acquisition of Polish refrigeration equipment manufacturer Area Cooling Solutions Sp zoo, a subsidiary of the Barcelona-based distribution business.
5th December 2024
Area Cooling Solutions sold to IPCOM
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.
4th December 2024
Overview of hydrocarbon heat pumps in Europe
FRANCE: A new report highlights the transformative role of hydrocarbons (HCs) in domestic heat pumps, their current status and a European market overview.
4th December 2024
Hoshizaki completes shift to “naturals” in Japan
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.
4th December 2024
Lu-Ve opens extended Chinese factory
ITALY/CHINA: Italian heat exchanger manufacturer Lu-Ve has officially opened the extended facilities at its Chinese production plant in Tianmen.
3rd December 2024
MHI large capacity chillers win environment award
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…
2nd December 2024
High-temperature heat pump project calls on Frascold
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.
1st December 2024
350 tonnes of refrigerant seized in global crackdown
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.
29th November 2024
Largest CO2 seawater heat pump starts up
DENMARK: A CO2-based seawater heat pump, said to be the world’s largest, has commenced operation supplying district heating networks in Esbjerg.
28th November 2024
Swegon produces wooden AHU
SWEDEN: Swegon has produced two functioning prototypes of its Gold air handling unit in wood.
28th November 2024
Daikin CO2 VRF will launch in April
BELGIUM: Daikin has revealed that its new CO2 VRV air conditioning product will launch in Europe in April alongside its current VRV5 range on R32.