World News

JAPAN: Mitsubishi Electric is looking to use biomass plastics in its air conditioners and other home appliances.

GERMANY: GEA has installed a new high-temperature heat pump using pentane refrigerant (R601) for a Belgian sugar producer.

UK: Heat pump “guru” Graham Hendra has joined Haier as European heat pump development officer.

USA: Chemours saw sales of its Opteon brand HFO refrigerants and lower GWP HFC/HFO blends grow 14% in 2024 to $810m.

BELGIUM: The European heat pump sector has declared itself down but far from out after sales figures show an average 23% drop in 2024.

USA: Carrier Ventures, the investment arm of the Carrier Global Corporation, is backing ZutaCore, a California-based innovator of two-phase direct-to-chip liquid cooling technology for data centres. 

POLAND: Polish authorities have intercepted 500kg of a non-specified refrigerant contained in tanks under a truck.

UK: Latest research conducted by UK market research company BSRIA has exposed the volatility of the European air conditioning market in 2024.

FINLAND: The dates and agendas for the evaluations of the impact of fluorinated gases under proposed new European PFAS restrictions have now been published by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

GERMANY/UAE: Allied Heat Exchange AG (A-HEAT) is to build a 37,000m2 heat exchanger production facility for its German subsidiary brand, Güntner, in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA).

ITALY/SPAIN: Commercial refrigeration equipment manufacturer Epta has acquired the Spanish contracting company SET Refrigeración SL.

USA: Two men have been convicted for separate instances of smuggling R22 refrigerant into the USA from Mexico.

USA: REHVA, the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations, took advantage of this week’s ASHRAE winter meeting to renew its partnership with the US-based organisation.

BELGIUM: The European manufacturers' group Eurovent is calling for the recognition of the HVACR sector in the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal and related policies, to preserve the industry's competitiveness.

SWEDEN/USA: Swegon has signed an agreement to acquire American Geothermal, a US manufacturer of heat pumps and chillers for the concrete industry and commercial HVAC sectors.

CHINA: Figures claiming that China’s emissions of high GWP refrigerants now represent more than 20% of the global total have been described as untenable by the Environmental Investigation Agency.

USA: US heating, air conditioning and refrigeration distributors enjoyed a 14.2% increase in sales in December, according to latest figures from industry association HARDI.

USA: CoolSys, the US HVACR contracting group, is assisting US retailers in removing and recycling Redbox kiosks following the closure of the DVD rental company.

USA: Carrier recorded sales of $22.5bn in 2024, a 19% increase on 2023, including organic sales growth of 3% and a 16% impact from acquisitions and divestitures. 

POLAND: A warning issued by the police in Poland has exposed the level of ignorance of refrigerants and the F-gas regulations that exists in some European member states.

JAPAN: The Osaka Metro is trialling an open-fronted “station waiting booth” that can be heated or cooled using airflow control technology from Panasonic. 

BULGARIA: Customs officers from the district of Rousse in Bulgaria have stopped an attempt to smuggle 1620kg of refrigerant at the border with Romania.

IRELAND: Johnson Controls has appointed Joakim Weidemanis as CEO, following last year’s announcement that George R Oliver would be stepping down from the role. 

USA: The Samsung Lennox North American joint venture, announced last year, has unveiled its first ductless heat pump offerings – the Samsung mini-split system and Varix VRF.

SPAIN: Panasonic has signed a sponsorship deal with FC Barcelona to become the new Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning provider for the development of the football club’s Camp Nou stadium complex.

GERMANY: Private equity firm Triton Partners is reported to be considering a sale of German heat exchanger products manufacturer Kelvion.

DENMARK: Danfoss has appointed Fabio Klein as divisional president of its Commercial Compressors division of Danfoss Climate Solutions.