Week 22 2026 Refrigeration & Heat Pump Industry Briefing

Policy & Regulation

China’s FAS 2026/550 energy-efficiency labelling rules for household refrigerators (GB 12021.2—2025) and road/tunnel LED lighting (GB 37478-2019) took effect on 1 Jun 2026, with a two-year transitional window for goods manufactured or imported before that date (labels may be applied until 1 Jun 2028). Refrigerator Grade-1 thresholds are materially tighter under the revised standard—firms should complete relabelling, testing, and channel inventory plans and file on energylabel.com.cn; other product groups in the 2026 catalogue roll out on staggered dates through Sep 2027.
On 26 May 2026 the US EPA finalised revisions to the AIM Act Technology Transitions Rule (TTR): supermarket and retail-food remote condensing units may use refrigerants up to GWP 1,400 until 1 Jan 2032 (previously 150/300); certain industrial-process-refrigeration chillers and semiconductor IPR equipment compliance moves to 1 Jan 2030; and the installation deadline for residential/light-commercial AC/HP systems manufactured or imported before 1 Jan 2025 using higher-GWP refrigerants is removed—allowing stranded legacy inventory to be installed. The rule is effective 27 Jul 2026; EPA also proposed exempting transport refrigeration units from leak-repair requirements.
Singapore’s NEA announced on 28 May 2026 stricter refrigerant standards from 1 Jul 2027: supermarket refrigeration must use GWP ≤150; new passenger cars and light goods vehicles must meet the same GWP cap from 1 Jul 2028. From Jul 2027, firms dismantling commercial refrigeration, cold rooms, vehicle AC, or refrigerated trucks must register with NEA and follow approved end-of-life refrigerant handling—building on 2022 household and large-building measures.

Market & Industry

The 15th IEA Heat Pump Conference (26–29 May 2026, Hofburg Vienna) drew 800+ participants from academia, industry, and policy; 367 scientific contributions were presented under the theme “Decarbonisation through Innovation”. IEA Deputy Executive Director Mary Burce Warlick stressed heat pumps’ role in energy security and affordability—Europe’s installed heat-pump stock already displaces gas demand comparable to the EU’s largest LNG terminal. UNIDO’s Riccardo Savigliano and IIR Director General Yosr Allouche framed industrial decarbonisation and global cooling/heating transitions; site visits included AIT, Vaillant (Senica), ECOP, Takeda, and Vienna municipal projects.
At the EHPA General Assembly on 27 May in Vienna, Patrick Crombez (Daikin Europe Environmental Research Centre) was re-elected president for a second two-year term, calling for electricity tax relief, steady support schemes, flexible consumer tariffs, and wider industrial heat-pump uptake. Five leaders received the Peter Ritter von Rittinger Award: Graeme Maidment (London South Bank University), Thomas Nowak (Qvantum International), Björn Palm, Choyu Watanabe (Zeneral Heatpump Industry/Nagoya University), and Renato Lazzarin (University of Padua)—recognising decades of international collaboration in research, policy, and market development.

Standards & Compliance

With FAS 2026/550 now in force for refrigerators, manufacturers must align marketing and tender claims with GB 12021.2—2025 test reports and energylabel.com.cn filings; mixed old/new label stock risks market-supervision disputes. Heat-pump-specific label rules under FAS 2025/45 (chiller, water-source, low-temp air-source, etc.) remain on the 2025-02-01 timeline with relabelling allowed until 2027-02-01 for pre-cutoff inventory—do not conflate the two catalogues.
The US EPA TTR revision shifts near-term GWP compliance economics for US supermarket and cold-chain operators while keeping longer-term 150/300 targets from 2032; exporters serving North America should map product lines against both federal AIM Act schedules and state-level rules. Singapore’s GWP ≤150 supermarket requirement from Jul 2027 adds another regional benchmark alongside EU F-Gas and Kigali trajectories.

Technology & Demonstrations

Conference programme spanned 24 themes including high-temperature industrial heat pumps, urban density solutions, grid integration and flexibility, refrigerants, and circular economy—continuing week-21 EHPA digitalisation threads. Keynotes highlighted heat pumps as a 3–6× efficiency multiplier and emerging flexibility resource (“distributed power plants in the making”, per RMI’s Rushad Nanavatty). Japan HPTC’s Mitsunobu Nakajo presented industrial heat-pump case studies; Wien Energie’s Karl Gruber showcased Vienna’s municipal decarbonisation path—see this site’s HTHP column and IIR Technical Brief No. 61 for related industrial routes.
Award laureate Choyu Watanabe’s industrial heat-pump leadership and Graeme Maidment’s urban energy-system work underscore the conference’s dual residential–industrial focus; Thomas Nowak’s market-development legacy bridges EHPA policy advocacy with manufacturer government relations—relevant as EU IF25 Heat Auction winners (week 21) move toward implementation.

Events Calendar

15th IEA Heat Pump Conference concluded 29 May 2026; proceedings and abstracts remain at hpc2026.org. Next edition rotates to Asia per HPT TCP three-year cycle (post-2026 host TBC).
Chillventa 2026 Nuremberg: 13–15 Oct 2026 (exhibition expanded ~15% vs prior edition per organiser messaging). ISH Shanghai & CIHE 2026 remains scheduled for Autumn 2026 at SNIEC. UK IOR announced it will host IIR’s second “Refrigeration: Adapting to Rising Temperatures” conference (Adaptation 2027)—dates TBC on ior.org.uk.

政策与监管

发改环资规〔2026〕550号中《家用电冰箱能源效率标识实施规则》（对应 GB 12021.2—2025）与《道路和隧道照明用 LED 灯具能源效率标识实施规则》（对应 GB 37478-2019）自2026年6月1日起施行；6月1日前出厂或进口的产品，可延迟至2028年6月1日前加施新版标识。新标下家用冰箱「一级能效」门槛显著抬升，企业宜完成在库产品换标检测、标签印制与渠道沟通，并在中国能效标识网（energylabel.com.cn）完成备案；目录内投影机、太阳能热水系统、吸油烟机/换气扇、洗衣机及室内 LED 等品类将分别于2026年7月至2027年9月分批实施。
美国环保署（EPA）2026年5月26日发布《AIM 法案》技术转换规则（TTR）修订最终规则：超市及零售食品远程冷凝机组在2032年1月1日前可使用 GWP 上限 1400 的制冷剂（原限值 150/300）；部分工业过程制冷冷水机及半导体 IPR 设备合规日期延至2030年1月1日；2025年1月1日前生产或进口的住宅/轻型商用空调热泵（高 GWP 工质）取消安装截止日，允许消化遗留库存。规则自2026年7月27日生效；EPA 另就运输制冷单元（TRU）泄漏维修豁免发布拟议规则。
新加坡国家环境局（NEA）2026年5月28日公布更严格制冷剂标准：自2027年7月1日起超市制冷系统须采用 GWP≤150 工质；自2028年7月1日起新注册乘用车及轻型货车空调亦须满足同等 GWP 上限。2027年7月起，拆解商用制冷、冷库、车用空调或冷藏车的企业须向 NEA 登记并按批准程序处置报废制冷剂——在2022年家用空调、冰箱及大型楼宇制冷限制基础上进一步收紧。

市场与产业

第15届 IEA 热泵大会（2026年5月26–29日，维也纳 Hofburg）汇聚800余名学界、产业与政策代表，在「Decarbonisation through Innovation」主题下呈现367篇科学投稿。IEA 副执行主任 Mary Burce Warlick 强调热泵对能源安全与可负担性的战略价值——欧洲在运热泵存量削减的天然气需求已可与欧盟最大 LNG 接收站相当。UNIDO 能源系统与工业脱碳单元负责人 Riccardo Savigliano 与 IIR 总干事 Yosr Allouche 分别阐述工业脱碳与全球冷暖转型路径；技术参观涵盖 AIT、Vaillant（斯洛伐克 Senica）、ECOP、武田制药及维也纳市政示范等项目。
EHPA 2026年5月27日于维也纳召开会员大会，Patrick Crombez（大金欧洲环境研究中心总经理）连任主席（第二届两年任期），呼吁降低用电税负、稳定补贴体系、推广灵活电价并扩大工业热泵应用。五人获三年一度的 Peter Ritter von Rittinger 国际热泵奖：Graeme Maidment（伦敦南岸大学）、Thomas Nowak（Qvantum International）、Björn Palm、渡部朝雄（Zeneral Heatpump Industry/名古屋大学）与 Renato Lazzarin（帕多瓦大学）——表彰其在热泵研究、政策与市场国际化方面的长期贡献。

标准与合规

550号文冰箱品类已正式施行，企业对外宣传与招投标技术响应须与 GB 12021.2—2025 实测报告及 energylabel.com.cn 备案型号一致，避免新旧标识混存引发市场监管争议。热泵相关机组能效标识仍适用发改环资规〔2025〕45号（冷水/水源/低环温空气源等），自2025年2月1日实施、2025年2月1日前出厂产品可延迟至2027年2月1日换标——与550号文家电/照明目录勿混为一谈。
美国 EPA TTR 修订改变商超与冷链近端 GWP 合规成本曲线，2032年起仍回归 150/300 分档限值；出口北美企业需同步对照联邦 AIM 法案时间表与各州补充规则。新加坡2027年7月商超 GWP≤150 要求与欧盟 F-Gas 及《基加利修正案》轨迹形成又一区域基准，宜纳入全球工质路线图评估。

技术与示范

大会议程覆盖24个主题，含工业高温热泵、高密度城市解决方案、电网集成与灵活性、制冷剂与循环经济等，与第21周 EHPA 数字化议题形成延续。主题演讲强调热泵 3–6 倍能效倍增器属性及需求侧灵活性潜力（RMI Rushad Nanavatty 称热泵网络为「分布式电厂雏形」）；日本热泵·蓄热技术中心 Nakajo 介绍工业热泵案例，Wien Energie Karl Gruber 分享维也纳市政脱碳路径——工业路线详见本站高温热泵专栏及 IIR 第61号技术简报（第19周已报道）。
Rittinger 奖得主渡部朝雄的工业热泵国际化工作及 Graeme Maidment 城市能源系统集成经验，体现大会「建筑—工业」双主线；Thomas Nowak 的市场培育遗产连接 EHPA 政策倡导与整机厂政府关系——与第21周 IF25 工业用热拍卖中标项目进入实施阶段形成政策—市场—技术闭环。

会展前瞻

第15届 IEA 热泵大会已于2026年5月29日闭幕；论文摘要与资料见 hpc2026.org。下届按 HPT TCP 三年轮值制移师亚洲（具体举办地待公布）。
Chillventa 2026 纽伦堡定于2026年10月13–15日（主办方称展览面积较上届扩大约15%）；ISH Shanghai & CIHE 2026 仍计划2026年秋季于上海新国际博览中心举办。英国 IOR 将承办 IIR 第二届「Refrigeration: Adapting to Rising Temperatures」会议（Adaptation 2027），日程见 ior.org.uk。