Autech Carrier to develop eco-friendly refrigerant heat pump technology

Korea Energy Show 2023 Autech Carrier booth

Autech Carrier, a subsidiary of South Korea’s Autech Group, has joined hands with the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials, a government-funded research institution, and Korea University to conduct a demo experiment on the development of a next-generation heat pump with new refrigerant.

According to Autech Carrier on Wednesday, the project’s main theme is the core technology and integrated operation system development of the next-generation alternative refrigerant and high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment.

Autech Carrier, Korea University, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials, and Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, will work jointly on the project.

Autech Carrier is responsible for developing a system optimization technology to apply the newly developed environmentally friendly alternative refrigerant to variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heat pumps.

The research team aims to develop the next-generation refrigerant, which is expected to have similar or improved efficiency compared to existing refrigerants. The focus is on achieving a lower Global Warming Potential (GWP), non-flammability, and enhanced stability.

A heat pump is a heating and cooling device that transfers heat from a low temperature source to a high temperature source or from a high temperature source to a low temperature source by using the heat of exothermic reaction and condensation of refrigerants.

Industry sources suggest that the global heat pump market is expected to grow from $50.8 billion in 2021 to $85.4 billion in 2027.

Notably, the European Union announced plans to increase the installation of heat pumps to 50 million units by 2030 under the Repower EU initiative for expanding renewable energy in 2022.

Heat pumps have gained recognition as a renewable energy source not only in the EU but also in China and Japan.

Efforts are ongoing in Korea as well, led by the Korea HVACR Industry Association, to gain recognition for air-source heat pumps as renewable energy.

In Korea, it is predicted that the widespread adoption of residential heat pump boilers could replace about 30 percent of the 1.5 million gas boilers, creating a new home heat pump market estimated at around 1 trillion won annually.

Autech Carrier’s core technology in heat pumps, the Dual Inverter Cascade Compressor, maximizes energy efficiency by enabling optimal operation depending on the surrounding environment.