Three papers were selected for awards in three different classes through a selection, nomination and evaluation process involving the Scientific Committee of the conference, consisting of a number of high-level researchers and experts in the field. The awards were presented during the closing session of the conference.
Best Scientific Paper Award
The Best Scientific Paper Award was given to the authors of Methodology to evaluate the uncertainty on the design length calculation of vertical ground heat exchangers, by Michel Bernier and Massimo Cimmino of Polytechnique Montréal.
The work compares several calculation methods for borehole length across five test cases, establishing an expected accuracy of around ten percent. Two calculation methods were used to evaluate local and global uncertainty, with seven system parameters examined across the test cases. Local and global uncertainty were found to be of a similar order, between plus and minus 11 and 14 percent, while uncertainty in the outlet fluid temperature at peak conditions was of the order of plus or minus 2 degrees Celsius. The result matters because borehole field sizing carries a large share of the capital cost of a ground-source installation, and quantifying the uncertainty in that calculation is a precondition for designing with appropriate rather than excessive margin.
Best Applied Research Paper Award
The Best Applied Research Paper Award was given to the authors of Development of a hydrocarbon high-temperature heat pump for industrial decarbonization, by Nils Ahlbrink, Fredrik Dupont Holdt, Jonas Lundsted Poulsen and Benjamin Zühlsdorf of the Danish Technological Institute.
The award recognises applied work directed at one of the central challenges discussed throughout the Vienna programme, namely raising the temperatures at which heat pumps can reliably supply industrial process heat while using working fluids that are compatible with long-term regulatory direction.
Best Pitch Presentation Award
The Best Pitch Presentation Award was given to the authors of Development and validation of micro-CT compatible experimental platform for frost formation studies, by Austin Labuschagne, Tingting Zhu and Wilko Rohlfs of the University of Twente and RWTH Aachen.
Frost formation on outdoor heat exchangers remains one of the more stubborn practical limits on air-source heat pump performance in cold climates, and the ability to observe frost growth directly and at high resolution provides a route to better defrost control and better fin geometry.
Source: Reported from the closing session of the 15th IEA Heat Pump Conference. Full report: https://heatpumpingtechnologies.org/as-we-close-this-conference-we-look-forward-to-2029/
