Having experienced double-digit growth over the past few years, China’s residential heat pump market is booming and is set to follow Europe’s lead in adopting energy-efficient technologies and natural refrigerants, according to the Wilo Group, a multinational leading supplier of water pumps and pump systems.
While demand for propane (R290) heat pumps is still relatively small, interest in the technology is growing, increasing by 40–50% over the last year.
“We expected there to be a development gap of 2–3 years between the Chinese and European markets,” said Jackie Xiao, Marketing Director of Emerging Markets at Wilo Group, in a recent interview with NaturalRefrigerants.com. “European regulation requires that the heat pumps exported to the EU market should be totally R290 by 2027. However, there are still no expected regulations for R32 and R410A in the Chinese market.”
As demand for propane heat pumps in China continues to grow, domestic manufacturers like Midea, Haier and PHNIX are focusing on exporting their R290-based technologies to Europe. Wilo has said it is working with more than 10 Chinese companies that are producing R290 heat pumps for the European market.
“We expected there to be a development gap of 2–3 years between the Chinese and European markets.”
Jackie Xiao, Marketing Director of Emerging Markets at Wilo Group
According to Jackie, the company estimates the export of R290 heat pumps with its Wilo-Para R and Wilo-Para MAXO pumps to be roughly 50,000 and 20,000 units, respectively.
Wilo is also expanding its offering for R290 heat pumps with the launch of its Wilo-Stratos PARA-C pump, which has a compact design for easy integration into OEM’s products, he added.
Supporting China’s heat pump industry
China’s growing interest in heat pump technology is largely driven by energy-saving incentives and the country’s climate targets, including its 2060 carbon neutrality goal.
According to Jackie, heat pump manufacturers in China have been investing heavily in production capacity, especially following the global supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Wilo is committed to promoting the healthy development of the heat pump industry in China,” he added. “This is mainly through the convergence of relevant standards such as those related to energy efficiency and refrigerants.”
While the shift to R290 technology has started in China, mass production remains a few years away. Many OEM customers are still in the testing phase, with several asking Wilo for sample water pumps to incorporate into prototype units for R290 heat pumps.
The company also promoted its pump for residential R290 heat pumps at the China Annual Heat Pump Conference, held in Shanghai, August 6–8.
“Wilo is committed to promoting the healthy development of the heat pump industry in China.”
Jackie Xiao, Marketing Director of Emerging Markets at Wilo Group
However, Wilo is positioning itself for the future. The company operates two R&D and manufacturing facilities in China, located in Beijing and Changzhou. The latter site is especially focused on producing HVAC-related water pumps and will have the capacity to manufacture 3 million water pumps and 3.5 million motors annually once a $100 million (€89.4 million) investment is completed later this year.
“This site will mainly be dedicated to high-efficiency water pumps for the heat pump industry, especially the R290 series,” explained Jackie.
In addition to serving China’s fast-growing market, Wilo exports its pumps to other emerging markets, such as Southeast Asia, Turkey, Africa and Latin America. European manufacturers are primarily supplied by Wilo’s production facilities in Aubigny and Laval, France.
