Next-Generation Heat Pump Technology: Cold and Thermal Utilization Technology to Achieve Carbon Neutrality

Kiyoshi Saito, a leading heat pump researcher, provides a comprehensive guide to this technology and its related trends, issues, and policies. Using a solutions-driven approach, this book provides a roadmap for building carbon-neutral and recycling-oriented societies with the help of heat pump technology. Situated in the context of advanced initiatives taking place in Japan, the book addresses the expansion of heat pump technology in recent years and the extension of its application into fields such as industrial and environmental technology. In doing so, it discusses not only technical but also digital aspects to explore various challenges related to the functioning of heat pumps, such as energy conservation and refrigerant leakage. Saito underscores the importance of holistic and practical solutions that take into account individual factors (such as increased equipment size, increased refrigerant consumption, and increases in product prices) to secure resources and optimize the value chain with the larger goal of building a circular economy and a decarbonised society. By offering valuable recommendations that involve technological solutions as well as policy initiatives, this book emphasizes the importance of heat pump technology in efficiently converting electricity and power into cooling and heating, and its indispensability in achieving carbon neutrality for building a more sustainable future. This book is an essential guide for graduate and postgraduate students as well as consumers and corporate engineers in the field. It is also an invaluable resource for governments and civil-society organizations working towards the realization of a circular economy.