Canadian CO₂ (R744) heat pump and refrigeration systems manufacturer Vitalis detailed its revenue growth, provided updates on large-scale projects and highlighted its new CO₂ oil management vessels in a conversation with NaturalRefrigerants.com at IIAR 2026.

NaturalRefrigerants.com spoke with Luke Redd, Head of Marketing, at IIAR, which was held March 15–18 in San Antonio, Texas.

“In the last year, we doubled our revenue in general, but to a large degree from the racks,” Redd said, adding that attendees at the show commented on the build quality of the rack, particularly the stainless steel welds. “[Our increased sales] came from demand, especially in California and the relationship that we have with our contractors.”

KKVB Group, the parent company of German-based Teko Refrigeration, acquired Vitalis in 2024. In May 2025 Vitalis opened a new 25,000ft² (2,323m²) manufacturing facility in Kelowna, British Columbia, allowing the company to double its production capacity.

District heating/cooling: Vitalis installed a 1.5MW (427TR) Coolshift CO₂ reversible air-source heat pump as part of a district energy project at the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) campus in Kelowna.

• During final commissioning and fine-tuning, Redd said the unit’s performance over the winter largely met Vitalis’s expectations.
• Vitalis anticipated an annual heating COP of 3.5. Preliminary results show an average COP of 3.2 based on partial operation in the 2025‒2026 winter season.
• “The performance will get even better as we capture more accurate data,” Redd said, adding that the project paves the way for developers to discover the benefits of CO₂ in low-temperature district energy systems.

Future case study: The next Vitalis project up for public review may come as early as fall 2026, Redd said. He explained that it involves a 300TR (1.1MW) air-cooled CO₂ chiller, with heat reclaim capability. It’s to be installed in Washington state.

• The industrial client produces hop extracts for brewers.
• Along with process chilling, the system will recover and purify CO₂ for reuse in a closed-loop system, where it serves as a solvent.
• The company’s initial focus when it was founded in 2016 was on CO₂ as a solvent for extracting compounds from foods and beverages. However, Vitalis discovered that replacing HFC solutions with an R744 heat pump could increase extraction COPs by 43%, leading the company to expand into CO₂-based heating and refrigeration equipment.

Moving the market: Working in partnership with TEKO Refrigeration, Vitalis has a new line of oil-management vessels for CO₂ systems, including oil separators, oil reservoirs and liquid receivers, centered around a cartridge designed specifically for CO₂ refrigeration.

• “Unlike traditional separator elements, which rely on fiber materials, the AUthentic cartridge uses a multi-layer polymer structure, which eliminates the risk of fiber contamination within the refrigeration system,” Vitalis said.
• The new vessels, rated for design pressures up to 140bar (2,030psi), are suitable for industrial and commercial applications.
• Most cartridges on the market are not designed specifically for CO₂ and, over time, can allow excessive oil carryover, according to Redd, which led the companies to develop the new filter.

Quotable: “If CO₂ grows, the overall pie grows for us too ‒ and CO₂ will only get a better reputation if people are getting good components,” Redd said. “That is why we are selling our new oil management vessels to other manufacturers.”

“If CO₂ grows, the overall pie grows for us too ‒ and CO₂ will only get a better reputation if people are getting good components.”

Luke Redd, Head of Marketing at Vitalis