RENEWX · Development and demonstration of compact, multi-source heat eXchanger technologies for renewable energy applications

Europe's refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump industry has an annual turnover of €30 billion and employs around 200,000 people. Within this industry our SME Associations represent over 1,000 SMEs within the heat pump manufacture, solar thermal system manufacture, design and installation sectors. Led by these associations the HeatXchange consortium consists of European SME associations, SME end users and some of Europe’s leading research associations. Together, we are proposing to develop new platform technologies that are relevant to our industries and their markets across Europe. The HeatXchange project will provide European manufacturers with alternative designs and manufacturing routes that will assist them expand their product range and to effectively compete with non-European competition. This will be achieved through the development and demonstration of a novel heat exchanger technology and manufacturing process that will enable increased market penetration of European-made air source type heat pump systems. The new platform technology will improve the efficiency and reduce the size of the evaporator, whilst enabling the integration of secondary or even tertiary energy sources. Overall these advanced will enable significant increases in Seasonal Performance Factors (SPF) which will improve the return on investment for consumers and hence attractiveness of EU air based heat pump systems. During the project this technology will be disseminated amongst our 1,000 members within the industry and showcased at events and conferences. Our aim is for HeatXchange to increase air-based heat pump sales by European manufacturers by at least 100,000 across Europe between 2014-2020 adding €300 million of value to Europe’s economy.