UK-based Ideal Heating has announced plans for a new GBP 10 million ($12.5 million) heat pump R&D research center in Hull, England. Heat Transformers, meanwhile, said it has raised €15 million ($16.4 million) to accelerate heat pump deployment in the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

The European Commission has informally approved Portugal and Spain’s request to extend the so-called “Iberian exemption” mechanism. The measure, which limits the price of natural gas for electricity production, was originally scheduled to end in May, but it will now run until the end of the year.

China sold the most heat pumps in the world in 2022, but Europe recorded the highest growth in overall sales, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). It says Italy, France, and Germany accounted for almost half of all sales in Europe, and notes that air-to-water heat pumps were the most popular technology.

High interest rates and hefty capex drove up the average payback time for solar in Germany, Spain and Italy to around 20 years in 2022, according to a new report by SolarPower Europe (SPE) and Energy Brainpool. pv magazine recently spoke with SPE Market Analyst Christophe Lits to crunch the numbers.

Property developer Steenoven and an undisclosed construction contractor have started drilling a borehole for a new thermal energy storage system in the historic city of Bruges, Belgium.

The European Parliament and the Council have reached a provisional agreement to raise the EU’s binding renewable energy target for 2030 to a minimum of 42.5% of the overall energy mix. The bodies also agreed on a further 2.5% indicative target, which would set Europe on a path to at least 45% renewables within this decade.

A European Union-funded project is bringing building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) solutions to eight historical cities in Europe. pv magazine recently spoke with Júlia Pereira, project coordinator for EDP New, about the innovative solutions being blended into the landscape in Évora, Portugal.

iDM has developed a modular air-source heat pump that uses propane (R290) as the refrigerant. It can produce between 2 kW and 24 kW of heat and domestic hot water up to a temperature of 70 C. A larger version can produce between 10 kW and 50 kW of heat.

Germany’s Vaillant has developed an air-source heat pump that uses propane (R290) as the refrigerant. It can produce between 3.5 kW and 12 kW of heat, and domestic hot water to a temperature of up to 75 C. It says the heat pump maximizes savings when paired with rooftop solar.

The South African government is looking for independent power producers to build and operate floating or ground-mounted PV projects at selected government waterworks infrastructure or damns. The projects should be operational for 20 years.