LG Electronics (LG) hosted the first-ever meeting of the Global Heat Pump Consortium in Seoul, South Korea, this week.
A cooperative venture between LG and a growing number of international universities, the consortium is focused on developing new, more efficient heat pump technologies, including solutions designed to handle harsh climatic conditions.
The event brings together LG personnel and academics from participating universities to introduce heat pump technologies and discuss industry-academia projects being conducted by each of the consortium's regional clusters.
The Global Heat Pump Consortium comprises LG-led heat pump R&D consortiums established in Alaska, USA (November 2023) and in Oslo, Norway, and Harbin, China (June and August of 2024, respectively).
The consortium also includes a South Korean cluster, with LG working collaboratively with respected universities in Seoul and Busan to drive heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) innovation.
On the first day of the event, LG introduced key heat pump technologies and products from its industry-leading lineup of high-efficiency HVAC solutions.
Each regional consortium then provided an update on its specific research tasks and shared its current progress in evaluating high-performance heat pump tech for challenging climates.
The inaugural meeting of the global consortium is also offering attendees valuable learning opportunities, with seminars and discussions on topics including the latest HVAC industry and market trends, and future technologies for region-specific heat pump solutions.
Through cooperating with universities known for their top-tier HVAC research programs, LG is strengthening its own R&D capabilities and accelerating the development of the next generation of heat pumps.
The company anticipates that the groundbreaking work being carried out by the consortium will also help strengthen its competitiveness in the global heating and cooling solutions market.
Internationally, the demand for high-efficiency, low-carbon-emission heat pumps is rapidly increasing, in large part due to the worldwide electrification and decarbonisation trends. Solidifying its status as a technology leader and responsible corporate citizen, LG is leveraging its cutting-edge heat pump technology to deliver region-specific heating and cooling solutions for the North American, European and Asian HVAC markets.
At an investor forum in August, LG highlighted "B2B acceleration" as one of its four key strategies for business portfolio innovation.
LG operates five Air Solution Research Labs – with facilities located in Korea, North America, Europe and India – and has a network of HVAC academies spanning 43 countries and training over 30,000 engineers annually.