Norwegian startup unveils CO2 water-to-water heat pump

Norway-based Tequs launched a new water-to-water, plug-and-play CO₂ heat pump for residential and commercial applications.

“Our new heat pumps are modular and can be used in parallel to achieve higher capacities,” the company's CEO, Joakim Søgård, told pv magazine. “The units come pre-filled with CO₂ and oil and are ready to use. The machines are very user-friendly, thanks to a large touchscreen with an easy-to-use user interface for service and maintenance.”

According to the manufacturer, the system design allows for simultaneous heating and cooling when both sides are utilized. It can reportedly handle up to 50 C return temperature or up to 60 C if a hydronic kit is used.

“The products stand out particularly in that they can deliver up to 90 C of heat for space heating, air conditioning, and domestic hot water while handling the high return temperatures required when you retrofit a heating system designed for fossil fuel heating,” Søgård added. “This is far above what others have managed before us. We can accept up to 50°C in return while maintaining a good coefficient of performance (COP).”

The heat pumps use R744 (CO2) as a refrigerant and are available in eight versions with capacities ranging from 17 kW to 268 kW.

The smallest product, called TCHP 17, measures 1,462 mm x 690 mm x 1,913 mm and features a voltage of 400 V. It reportedly offers a heating capacity of 18 kW and a cooling capacity of 17 kW. The COP for heating is 5.0 and for cooling it is 4.4.

The largest system, labeled TCHP 268, has a size of 2,357 mm x 690 mm x 1,913mm and a voltage of 400 V. Its heating capacity is 268 kW and the cooling capacity is 267 kW. As for heating and cooling COP, the manufacturer said that these values are at 5.4 and 4.5, respectively.

The manufacturer claims the new heat pump series is particularly suitable for hotels, office buildings, residential complexes, swimming pools, and industrial buildings.

“Our goal has been to develop a series of heat pumps that are particularly well-suited for a heating system where a gas boiler is to be replaced,” Søgård explained. “We started the project in 2020 and have been actively working for now four years. The product has gone through many different prototype stages, both in the laboratory and in the field, and was recently at the Norwegian Refrigeration Technical Annual Conference.”