World News

BELGIUM: Latest figures from the European Heat Pump Association reveal that 2.31 million heat pumps were sold in 19 European countries in 2024, a drop of 22% on 2023. 

SWEDEN: Robert Larsson has been named as the new president and CEO of Swedish HVAC manufacturer Systemair AB to succeed Roland Kasper.

SWEDEN: Swedish heat pump manufacturer Energy Save has strengthened its network of distributors with the appointment of Sedical SA for the Spanish and Portuguese markets.

FRANCE: Redge is the new brand name for the commercial HVAC activities of the LFB Group, the former Lennox EMEA business.

SOUTH KOREA/NORWAY: LG Electronics is expanding its European HVAC business with the acquisition of OSO, a Norwegian manufacturer of hot water solutions.

UK/UKRAINE: Birmingham’s Aston University has been working with scientist’s in Ukraine on a new heat pump that could cope with Ukraine’s winters, where temperatures plummet as low as -21°C.

AUSTRIA: Building services company Caverion Österreich has acquired Austrian contractor Lepuschitz Kältetechnik GmbH. 

IRELAND: Carrier’s official Irish distributor of light commercial and residential Carrier equipment, Viridus Energy, is now looking after the full range of Carrier CHVAC spare parts as well.

JAPAN: As it pushes for net zero, Panasonic says it has recycled nearly 5,000,000 waste air conditioners since 2001 at its home appliances recycling facility in Kato City.

BELGIUM: European contractors organisation AREA is encouraging its members to participate in the public enquiry into the proposed revision of EN378.

JAPAN: Mitsubishi Electric has warned of a vulnerability in some of its multiple air conditioning controllers which could allow an attacker to bypass authentication.

PHILIPPINES: The Philippines’ Department of Agriculture has allocated the equivalent of US$53m to build around 99 cold storage facilities aimed at extending the shelf life of fruits, vegetables, and other high-value crops.

FRANCE: To mark World Refrigeration Day, the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) is calling for refrigeration to be recognised as critical infrastructure for health, food security, energy efficiency and climate sustainability. 

USA: Bill McQuade, Baltimore Aircoil’s vice president for government affairs and global sustainability, has been installed as the 2025-26 president of ASHRAE. 

GERMANY:  Viessmann Deutschland GmbH, responsible for the sales of Viessmann Climate Solutions in Germany, is expanding its managing directors team.

UAE: Dubai-based district cooling service provider Empower has launched its annual summer campaign to limit air conditioning in the region to 24ºC.

KENYA: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has produced a guide to support governments in the integration of sustainable cooling into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

ITALY: Authorities in Italy have intercepted 13.6 tonnes of illegal virgin R404A and R507A of Chinese origin bound for Salerno.

BELGIUM: Eurovent has released a new recommendation on moisture recovery in ventilation and air conditioning systems.

USA: A US refrigeration engineer has been awarded nearly $77m after losing most of his fingers and parts of his hands during a supermarket refrigerant leak.

CHINA/USA: Midea has met with representatives of the US Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) to discus future collaboration on regional energy efficiency standards and streamline regulatory pathways. 

PORTUGAL: The Portuguese association of M&E contractors and installers has called for an extension of its government’s reduced 6% VAT rate for air conditioning and heat pumps. 

UK: Refrigerant supplier and reclaimer A-Gas has joined the European Data Centre Association (EUDCA), as a member of its technical committee.

GERMANY: Latest data from German system operators show a steep decline in refrigerant emissions since 2017.

ITALY: World Refrigeration Day and the European contractors’ group AREA have signed a new memorandum of understanding to promote further co-operation between the two bodies.

ITALY: Daikin is to introduce a new high-temperature option for its VZ series of water-to-water heat pumps, capable of supplying hot water at temperatures up to 90°C.

BELGIUM: Armstrong International has commenced work on a new high temperature industrial heat pump production facility at its site in Herstal, Belgium.