Mitsubishi Electric Corporation will invest $US143.5 million to retrofit a US-based factory to make variable-speed compressors that are a key component of high-efficiency heat pumps.
As part of Mitsubishi Electric US Holdings, the Maysville, Kentucky-based factory of Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, currently manufactures and sells automotive electrical equipment.
Production of the compressors, targeted to start in October 2027, is expected to help the company meet growing demand in the United States for low-greenhouse-gas-impact and energy-efficient HVAC solutions. Initial estimated annual capacity will total 1,000,000 compressors.
When complete, the revamped factory will represent the first time that variable-speed compressors using twin rotary technology for highly efficient ductless heat pumps will be manufactured in the United States.
More than 90 per cent of these compressors for in-demand ductless heat pump systems are currently built in China and other countries in Asia.
While the company will make a significant investment in this project, its US subsidiary, MELCO HVAC US, Inc., will receive a $50 million award from the US Department of Energy (DOE)’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) for the domestic production of high-efficiency heat pump technology.
This funding will be allocated over three years for the retrofitting of the US factory.