Transcritical CO2 set to grow five-fold by 2020

Global sales of transcritical CO2 systems are predicted to grow more than five-fold over the next five years according to a new report.

According to the new report by marketsandmarkets.com, the transcritical market was worth $4.9bn in 2014. Fuelled by the phase-down of HFCs, the report predicts this will rise to $30.7bn by 2020. Europe, already the dominant market for these systems, is expected to account for $26bn.

Globally, the domestic heat pumps segment has been the largest end-user of transcritical CO2 systems, due to the popularity of the Japanese-inspired EcoCute heat pump water heater which has achieved sales of more than 4 million worlwide. By far the largest commercial application currently is in supermarkets.

While Denmark currently commands the largest market share of 33.5%, North America is the fastest-growing and has the potential to become the largest market for transcritical CO2 systems in the near future, the report maintains. So, while Denmark, Germany, Canada, Japan, and the U.K. are at forefront in the transcritical CO2 system consumption, China and the US are expected to be the key regions in the near future.

Although traditionally more expensive, the installation cost of these systems has dropped in the recent years. The report quotes experts that the payback period for a transcritical CO2 system is estimated to be less than three years.