- Aira, a Swedish heat pump group, will open a 300 million euro ($320.9 million) heat pump plant in Poland.
- European heat pump sales hit a record 2.77 million that year but fell 5% in 2023, data from the European Heat Pump Association show.
Aira, a Swedish heat pump group, will open a 300 million euro ($320.9 million) heat pump plant in Poland this week, with a plan to roll out a full capacity of 500,000 units per year as European demand rises, its CEO said.
A heat pump is a device that consumes work to transfer heat from a cold heat sink to a hot heat sink. Specifically, the heat pump transfers thermal energy using a refrigeration cycle, cooling the cool space and warming the warm space.
Also, In cold weather, a heat pump can move heat from the cool outdoors to warm a house; the pump may also be designed to move heat from the house to the warmer outdoors in warm weather. As they transfer heat rather than generate heat, they are more energy-efficient than other ways of heating or cooling a home.
Aira, founded by Vargas Holding, which also owns battery maker Northvolt, is targeting European markets, including Britain and Germany, where heat pump penetration is relatively low to its home market, Martin Lewerth said in an interview.
He said the company had a “very positive outlook” on demand, with gas prices remaining at a historically high level.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which led to a significant energy crunch, the European Union said it would aim to deploy at least 30 million heat pumps this decade to lessen dependence on imported fossil fuels.
Also, European heat pump sales hit a record 2.77 million that year but fell 5 per cent in 2023, data from the European Heat Pump Association show, as divisions on the pace and cost of the green transition led to a phase-out of the German fossil fuel boiler ban last autumn.
In December, the European Commission delayed the Heat Pump Action Plan announcement until after the EU election.
Lewerth said he expects the slowdown to be temporary as the pace of installations is robust while subsidies in key markets have increased.
“In the UK, they increased the subsidies from 5,000 pounds ($6,319) to 7,500 – in Germany, you can get up to 70 per cent subsidy on your installation. I think these are very strong signals.”