Successful European Heat Pump Summit 2015

- Conference programme popular with participants
- High level of internationalism

After two days packed with first-class presentations and high-quality up-to-date information events, the European Heat Pump Summit – powered by Chillventa – came to a successful close in the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre on 22 October. 240 heat pump experts and 21 exhibitors in the accompanying Foyer Expo took part in this year's trade event on the subject of heat pumps. Experts from around the world used this opportunity to exchange views, discuss research results, and find out about the latest trends and developments. A further highlight was the Foyer Expo, where a wide range of new components and products was presented. This year the proportion of international exhibitors reached over 75 percent.

"We are happy with the success of the European Heat Pump Summit 2015", summarized Alexander Stein, Executive Director for NürnbergMesse. With 240 participants and 21 exhibitors, the European Heat Pump Summit is the largest heat pump event in Europe for industrial and commercial applications, for residential construction, as well as hybrid systems and components. "The number of participants and exhibitors is on a par with the previous event, which is satisfying. We were also happy to get the consistently good feedback that we received from everyone involved this year. Exhibitors, speakers, and participants came to Nuremberg from 27 countries to take part in specialist discussions. This underscores the international significance of the event. Heat pumps are at home in Nuremberg, both at the European Heat Pump Summit – obviously – and also at Chillventa and the Chillventa CONGRESS, which will be taking place in October 2016," Alexander Stein continued.

Symposium provides answers to current questions

In 2015 the European Heat Pump Summit once again provided a wide range of specific and technically valuable answers to the questions that are being asked in Europe and throughout the world as a result of current legal requirements, technical developments, and calls for a clean environment. The topicality and depth of technical knowledge at the Summit were confirmed by the participants, represented here by this view expressed by Joachim Gerstel, Business Development Manager, Opteon Refrigerants EMEA, Chemours: "The Summit is a well-organized meeting place for specialists to exchange expertise. I very much enjoyed it overall, as it tackled new core topics like high-temperature heat pumps and low-GWP fluids, including the new HFO-1336mzz(Z). The speakers' presentations were professional and competent."

Still plenty of potential in Europe

Today people are taking advantage of the benefits of heat pumps in many countries in Europe. In Germany, however, this is not currently the case, says Dr Rainer Jakobs from the IZW (Information Centre on Heat Pumps and Refrigeration) and coordinator of the Summit: "In Germany, the framework conditions for heat pumps are not ideal at the moment. In my view, this is because the low gas and oil prices combined with the very high – and rising – cost of electricity are counterproductive for utilizing heat pumps, both in commerce and industry and in the residential sector." And yet, Dr Jakobs continued, the heat pump would be an environment-friendly method of heating which has many advantages, as was evident at the Heat Pump Summit. The pioneers here are our European neighbours, for example Denmark, which has already banned the use of gas and oil heating systems in new buildings.

Over 35 well-known speakers from Germany and abroad showed very clearly in their presentations how the heat pump contributes to protecting the environment and how successfully it can be used. In addition, its market potential was also made obvious: Since 2005, an average annual growth rate of 7.4 percent has been recorded. This was affirmed by Thomas Nowak from EHPA in his market overview for the 21 EU countries. The highest growth rate recorded was for hot water heat pumps, which increased from 11,000 units sold in 2005 to over 110,000 in 2014. The symposium focussed on the potential for heat pumps in various markets, as well as renewable energies in conjunction with nZEBs to create sustainable and responsible business. Julian Jansen from Delta EE examined the market for hybrid heat pumps and forecast growth in France from 6,000 units in 2014 to over 30,000 in 2020.

In commercial and industrial applications, the hybrid use of heat and cold is moving into the foreground. Jörg Saar from Danfoss presented this application in supermarket refrigeration systems in Denmark. In this application the cold is used for chilling food and the heat is pumped to a higher temperature level so that it can then be fed into district heating networks. He clearly explained the evolution of supermarkets from being energy users to energy producers. In addition, the development of building components and products for innovative future-proof systems was also highlighted.

International energy agency provided information at the symposium

Another highlight of this year's European Heat Pump Summit was the inclusion of reports on the status of global research and development within the scope of the heat pumping technologies of the International Energy Agency (IEA-HPT). These research and development presentations are known as the IEA HPT Annexes. The heat pump concept for use in "nearly Zero Energy Buildings" is the subject of HPT Annex 40 and was comprehensively presented by Prof. Carsten Wemhöner from Rapperswil University in Switzerland. A few hundred of these nZE buildings have been built and documented. They combine power generation using photovoltaic systems and heat generation using heat pumps. HPT Annexes 42 and 45 deal with the hybrid heat pumps already mentioned and their integration into smart grids.

Commercial and industrial applications at a glance

A special series of presentations in German took place in parallel with the European Heat Pump Summit symposium. The theme was the commercial and industrial use of the heat pump. In his presentation, Stefan Wolf from the University of Stuttgart provided an overview of the framework conditions for industrial production plants and the possible applications of specifically tailored heat pumps.

In his presentation "Energy efficiency with high-temperature heat pumps in the process industry", Karl Ochsner, President of Ochsner Wärmepumpen, spoke about heat pumps with forward flow temperatures of up to 98 °C, which, for example, provide process heat for district heating networks and which can heat large-volume structures. The presentation "Large cooling systems with heat recovery at high temperatures" discussed reference systems for generating cold and heat in the high capacity range, from several MW to 70 MW. In cold generation, using cutting-edge compressor technology means that hot water with temperatures of 95 °C and more can be generated. Further themes in this session were heat pumps in the drying process and other high-temperature heat pumps.
Details of all the presentations and the speakers plus photos can be found at: www.hp-summit.de/symposium

High international participation in the Foyer Expo

The Foyer Expo, held in parallel with the symposium, once again rounded out the programme of presentations with the latest products presented by well-known companies and associations from the international heat pump sector. Over two-thirds of the exhibiting companies came from abroad this year. The up-to-date list is available on the European Heat Pump Summit Website at: www.hp-summit.de/foyer-expo

Other important industry events: ACREX India and Chillventa 2016

ACREX INDIA will take place from 25 to 27 February 2016 in the BCEC, Mumbai. It is South Asia's leading trade fair for heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, refrigeration, and building technology. This coming year the title of the trade fair is "Make in India – infinite opportunities for HVAC&R and the building services industry." The organizers are once again expecting record attendance figures, with roughly 30,000 trade visitors and about 500 companies. Another highlight follows in autumn of 2016: Chillventa, the International Exhibition for the Refrigeration – AC & Ventilation – Heat Pumps. The world's leading refrigeration trade fair is taking place from 11 to 13 October 2016 in the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre. The theme of Chillventa will be "Connecting Experts," because this is where the international refrigeration, air-conditioning, ventilation, and heat pump community gets together to meet. "Preparations for Chillventa 2016 are already well under way. It is clear that Chillventa is going to grow once again. A good year before the event, we can already see that we are moving towards the largest, most successful Chillventa ever", Alexander Stein commented.