Panasonic and Yanmar to form gas heat pump JV
31st August 2024
JAPAN: Panasonic and Yanmar Energy Systems are to establish a joint venture to develop and manufacture gas engine heat pump (GHP) air conditioners.
The proposed company – Panasonic Yanmar GHP Development and Manufacturing Co Ltd – would be 51% owned by Panasonic Holdings and 49% by Yanmar Energy Systems with its headquarters in Gunma Prefecture.
The gas engine heat pump is a commercial air conditioner that uses a gas engine to drive a compressor. There are claims it can be up to 11 times more efficient than an electric heat pump.
The two companies were pioneers in the technology. Panasonic developed and manufacturing the first GHP unit in 1985, with Yanmar entering the GHP business at the same time.
In recent years, Panasonic released a hybrid air conditioner, the Smart Multi, equipped with both a gas engine and an electric motor. It controls gas and electricity consumption according to the air conditioning load, contributing to levelling out primary energy and reducing running costs.
This is not the first time that Panasonic and Yanmar have worked together. Since December 2022, the two companies have been collaborating in a distributed energy business that achieves high energy efficiency by utilising waste heat from micro cogeneration systems in absorption chillers.
The prospective partners say that the joint venture will bring together the strengths of both companies – Panasonic’s refrigerant technology and Yanmar’s engine technology. It is expected to shorten development lead times through the sharing of designs, improving the in-house production rate of parts used, and establish a stable production system by taking advantage of Panasonic’s factory in Gunma Prefecture and Yanmar’s factory in Okayama Prefecture.
The joint venture is targeted to be in place by April 2025 with the aim to launch jointly developed GHP outdoor units in the spring of 2026.
The companies say that the brands, sales and services of both companies will remain unchanged and each will continue their own businesses.
Related stories:
Panasonic and Yanmar in distributed energy alliance – 4 December 2022
JAPAN: Panasonic is to collaborate in a distributed energy business with fellow Japanese company Yanmar to deploy solutions based on air conditioners and micro cogeneration systems. Read more…
Gas heat pump company Yanmar forms European subsidiary – 29 September 2019
GERMANY: Yanmar, a Japanese manufacturer of gas engine heat pumps, has formed a new company, Yanmar Energy System Europe GmbH (YESE), to look after customers in Europe. Read more…
Panasonic debuts gas/electric hybrid ac – 29 February 2016
JAPAN: Panasonic has debuted Japan’s first hybrid air conditioner, integrating gas and electric air conditioning systems into one refrigerant system. Read more…
