Earlier this week, the Honorable Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), traveled to Sidney, Ohio to visit Copeland, a global provider of sustainable climate solutions. The Miami Valley region serves as the company’s Americas innovation hub. During the visit, Secretary Granholm awarded the organization a grant to support a $2.5 million project to research and develop innovative heat pump technology for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
The grant will fund the research and development for a modular, plug-and-play, load-flexible heat pump with low-cost thermal energy storage (TES) for space conditioning and water heating. This innovation has the potential to provide significant cost savings for consumers during HVAC installations and drastic reductions in energy usage.
"The grant we've received from the Department of Energy will play a critical role in advancing the future of heat pump technology, reducing both consumer costs and energy consumption," said Rajan Rajendran, global vice president of environmental sustainability at Copeland. "We are thankful for the Secretary's visit to see firsthand the innovations happening here in the region – heat pumps and beyond – that are vital to advancing sustainable climate technologies across the globe."
Secretary Granholm's visit and the DOE grant marks a significant milestone in Copeland's journey to advance the next generation of climate technologies. The HVAC and refrigeration industry leader's efforts in advancing sustainability and enabling global decarbonization are aligned with President Biden's Investing in America agenda and the Biden-Harris Administration's efforts to build an equitable clean energy future. During her visit, the Secretary and her colleagues toured Copeland's Sidney facilities, where the latest innovations in heat pump technology and the next generation of sustainable heating, air conditioning and refrigeration products were showcased.
"I am so proud to be able to celebrate the innovation here in Sidney, as well as Copeland's role in helping us address the existential crisis of our time, which is climate change," said Secretary Granholm during her visit to Copeland's lab.
