Recent major trade show trend notes
Recent major trade show trend notes
China Refrigeration Expo 2026 (CRH 2026)
37th China Refrigeration Expo · Apr 8–10, 2026 · Beijing (Capital International Convention & Exhibition Center)
With dual-carbon goals deepening, heat pumps drew the most attention and their application scope widened sharply. Five themes distilled from exhibitors, forums, and industry–academia updates:
Trend 1: Industrial ultra-high-temperature steam heat pumps challenge conventional process heat
Industrial heat pumps are moving to large pressure ratios and 120–200°C steam/hot water, targeting boiler replacements. Beibingyang launched a 140°C centrifugal steam heat pump (high outlet temperature certified); Gree showed 120–200°C large-ratio cascade screw and centrifugal water-vapor compressors; Shenling’s lineup reaches 120–150°C steam, Midea presented 150°C steam-class centrifugal heat pump packages. Moon Environment and others integrate heat pumps with petrochemical distillation, brewing, and district cascade waste heat; the industrial heat & waste-heat recovery forum reinforced “using every joule of waste heat.”
Trend 2: HVAC and traditional thermal (combi boiler / water heater) majors share the stage
Beyond leading HVAC brands, Viessmann, Bosch, Vaillant, A.O. Smith, Rinnai, Vanward and other thermal majors exhibited prominently. A dedicated “heating & hot-water boiler G20 zone” and a northern clean-heating transition forum signaled gas-equipment vendors accelerating adoption of heat pumps and multi-energy mixes—cross-industry competition is heating up.
Trend 3: Hardware–software integration & AI-enabled integrated energy operations
Leaders are shifting from selling boxes to integrated energy and intelligent O&M: Midea Building Technologies ties products to the iBUILDING stack for edge-to-cloud synergy. Forums on green-factory smart energy and hospital energy efficiency, plus USST’s digital-twin smart plant room (AI across operating points, ~10–20% system-wide savings), highlight software and algorithms as differentiators.
Trend 4: Aluminum-for-copper cost relief & natural refrigerants in projects
The industry conference’s aluminum-for-copper track pushes aluminum in heat exchangers to ease material cost. Danfoss and partners showcased mobile CO₂ transcritical training rigs; Tianjin University of Commerce showed a CO₂ heat pump prototype; BJUT presented low-charge R290 finned-tube heat exchangers—accelerating natural refrigerants for safety and efficiency.
Trend 5: Industry–academia scenarios move into field validation
BJUT’s flue-gas deep-cooling cascade heat pump has run in Mentougou for over two years and entered small-batch trials. COLDNOT’s dual-source high-temperature heat pump (PVT / waste heat / air to ~150°C steam) and Beijing University of Civil Engineering’s PV DC-direct module (GaN, ~98–99% conversion) are advancing toward engineering validation.
China Heating Exhibition forum notes
China Heating Exhibition forum · Mar 31, 2026 · Beijing
Based on the Industrial Heat Pump Technology Innovation & Application Development Forum and the policy briefing held the same day, industry and R&D stakeholders highlighted the following themes.
Trend 1: Ultra-high temperature equipment & localized core components in China
Industrial heat pumps are pushing past conventional temperature ceilings: two-stage magnetic levitation steam compressors at around 150°C are entering real projects, while R&D targets extend toward 200°C-class systems. The supply chain is focusing on localized production in China and system matching for natural-refrigerant high-temperature compressors and cost-effective, efficient expanders.
Trend 2: Natural refrigerants & low-GWP fluids
Under Kigali and evolving PFAS-related policy expectations, refrigerant transition is a priority. Natural fluids (CO₂, water, ammonia) and low-GWP options such as R1233zd(E) are becoming mainstream directions for compressors and system design.
Trend 3: From stand-alone units to digital & intelligent O&M
Heat pumps are evolving from “static efficiency” to wide-range efficiency and intelligent coordination: digital twins and AI-based predictive maintenance support piping/pressure/temperature monitoring and dynamic efficiency optimization; control shifts from isolated operation to IoT-enabled system synergy. Full life-cycle management and VFD intelligent control are emphasized to address fouling, harsh conditions, and oversizing.
Trend 4: Integrated heating & cooling and multi-energy coupling
To tackle capex and single-service efficiency limits, “same-source” heating–cooling integration is gaining traction—for example CO₂ transcritical systems supplying steam or high-temperature water while recovering cooling duty, with demonstration projects showing major energy savings and emissions cuts. Heat pumps will also couple more deeply with solar and industrial waste heat for plant-wide energy cycling.
Industrial HTHP conference notes → Industrial HTHP in the Knowledge base