On January 29, the first meeting of the new Project 69 was held online. This new project, entitled Enhanced miniaturized components, aims to support the development of new heat pump components that are less costly, smaller, and highly efficient. All types of components are within the scope of the project, but the main focus will be on compressors and heat exchangers.
Why a project on this topic? We know that electrifying the heating sector requires installing hundreds of millions of heat pumps over the next 10 to 15 years to meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement. Many of these heat pumps will be substituting gas heaters in apartments or single-family homes. For the transition to be accepted by the general public, the cost of heat pumps must come down, and the heat pumps must fit into the space available in ordinary people´s homes. More compact, highly efficient components will enable the design of a smaller system with less material, allowing it to be sold at competitive prices. Making the systems more compact will also reduce the charge, which is important when using flammable A3 refrigerants.
Participating in Project 69 are so far Sweden (PL), Austria, China, Germany, South Korea, and the UK. There is also interest from a couple of other countries, which may join soon. At the January meeting, each country presented what it could bring to the project. A couple of national projects are focusing on the design of new compressors. Several contributions are related to heat exchanger design, how to make them more efficient, perhaps designing for three-fluid heat exchange, or combining with energy storage, or utilizing micro-channels to enhance heat transfer and to reduce size and charge. To ensure that the results reach the market, Project 69 intends to maintain close contact with industry in the participating countries. We look forward to reporting on progress at a later stage.
Björn Palm, KTH, Sweden, Project Manager of Project 70
