LG planning US heat pump factory

USA: LG Electronics is finalising plans to establish a new manufacturing base in the USA to produce domestic heat pumps.

The plans were revealed by Thomas Yoon, LG Electronics North America president and CEO, at a White House executive roundtable on heat pump manufacturing and deployment today. 

During the roundtable dialogue among senior administration officials, including US secretary of energy Jennifer Granholm, and industry CEOs, LG applauded the government’s major investments in driving demand through tax incentives and rebates, but cited the lack of awareness and familiarity about the benefits of heat pump technology as a major barrier to market adoption.

Yoon said that government incentives at the federal, state and local levels would encourage and expand domestic manufacturing and revealed that LG was finalising plans to establish a new manufacturing base in the United States.

“In the near future, LG plans to produce indoor products that are part of the heat-pump system in the United States for the first time. Soon thereafter we are planning to produce the heat-pump outdoor units as well,” he said.

“From our perspective, the bigger issue is not supply but demand. We applaud the government’s major investments in driving demand through tax incentives and rebates. However, lack of awareness and familiarity about the benefits of heat pump technology is a barrier to market adoption.”

He added that while LG was planning to leverage its training academies across the country to educate and train technicians, the supply of qualified installers was limited and suggested that the government might help address this shortage and support more training.