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FRANCE: Johnson Controls has doubled the size and capacity of its primary European manufacturing facility in Nantes, France, for York chillers and heat pumps.

FINLAND: The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has begun evaluating the proposed PFAS restrictions on a sector-by-sector basis but there is no indication yet of a timeline for the RACHP industry.

USA: A seafood distributor will pay a penalty of $72,000 for violating chemical accident prevention requirements following an accidental release of ammonia in 2020. 

UK: Bitzer has appointed Wirral-based contractor Flynn Refrigeration as its authorised marine service partner for the UK.

ITALY: The huge interest in heat pumps has prompted the organiser of the Mostra Convegno Expocomfort show to launch a new event in 2025.

ITALY: Interest in the MCE Mostra Convegno Expocomfort exhibition is returning to pre-covid levels with visitor attendance for last week’s event up over 30% on the last show in 2022.

SWEDEN: Nibe has given notice of redundancy to 340 employees in Sweden as a result of weaker demand in the European heat pump market.

ITALY: All activities under the recently announced Epta and Viessmann Refrigeration joint venture are to operate under the Epta brand.

UK: The SIRACH network is hosting a half-day briefing at London’s iconic Shard to share the findings of the Lot-Net project. 

UK: The UK must achieve an eleven-fold increase in heat pump installations if it is to hit government targets of 600,000 heat pumps installed per year by 2028.

UK: Stephen Forbes Pearson, co-founder of Star Refrigeration and one of the world's greatest refrigeration engineers, has died at the age of 92.

SAUDI ARABIA: German manufacturer Güntner has supplied 132 dry coolers, each with 18 fans, to a 32,500TR district cooling project in Saudi Arabia.

UK: Don Cleland, a professor of process engineering at Massey University in New Zealand, is hosting a series of refrigeration workshops in London this summer.

FRANCE: Tecumseh has implemented a flexible manufacturing line at its factory in Cessieu, France, to provide bespoke condensing units for OEM customers.

UK: Invertek Drives has extended its range of Optidrive Coolvert variable frequency drives with two new compact frame sizes with higher power ratings.

UK: The UK government is proposing a year’s delay on the introduction of the Clean Heat Market Mechanism, one of its key tools to support the rollout of heat pumps. 

FRANCE: French heat exchanger manufacturer Nexson has acquired Thermowave, a sister company of German refrigeration equipment manufacturer Güntner and subsidiary of Vienna-based A-Heat AG.

USA: Copeland has announced the release of its new oil-free centrifugal compressor with frictionless bearing technology for chiller applications.

UK: The Institute of Refrigeration has announced the elevation of 11 existing members to Fellows in recognition of their technical expertise, leadership and contribution to…

UK: Ideal Heating is opening a heat pump training hub in the south of England as it continues its investment in UK training facilities.

ITALY: Lennox has launched Evio, an air-cooled rooftop unit utilising R32 refrigerant and providing great flexibility between airflow range and power capacity for a wide range of applications.

GERMANY: Panasonic has joined forces with Tado, the Munich-based manufacturer of domestic thermostats and air conditioning controls to offer smart heat pump solutions to the European market.

ITALY: Panasonic has announced larger versions of its Aquarea T-CAP M Series propane heat pump for use in multi-family dwellings or commercial buildings.

EUROPE: The European Parliament has voted in favour of the trilogue deal of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) which seeks to deliver a climate-neutral building stock by 2050.

GERMANY: Siemens has revealed details of a new magnetic expansion valve designed specifically to increase efficiencies of chillers and heat pumps.

USA: A new joint venture has been formed to manufacture and supply air conditioning and atmospheric water harvesting products in the Americas, Africa, and Australia.

UK: Aira, the Swedish direct-to-consumer heat pump company, has announced the launch of its own-brand propane units in 6kW, 8kW and 12kW sizes.