# Heat pumps, air conditioning and refrigeration: Value chain

From Chinese compressors to the installer at your door

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_pumps/valuechain/

What this tab covers Who does what, from equipment makers to builders, owners, operators, traders and users, with the leading companies at each step.

Heat pumps are assembled from copper, aluminium and steel, a compressor, electronics and a refrigerant, then sold through installers who design and fit each system. Manufacturing is regional: about 145 GW a year of capacity, 35% in China, 25% in the United States and 20% in the EU, and over 70% of sales in the main markets are made locally.

#### The chain
 Refrigerants Compressors Equipment makers Installers Owners and users

| Stage | What happens | Leading companies |
|---|---|---|
| **Refrigerants** | Fluorochemical makers supply HFCs (such as R32, global warming potential 675 on the IPCC 2007 basis used by regulators) and lower-GWP HFOs; natural refrigerants (propane, CO2, ammonia) are also used. | Chemours (United States) Solstice Advanced Materials, spun off from Honeywell in October 2025 (United States) Zhejiang Juhua (China)^[3](https://heatpumpingtechnologies.org/articles/heat-pumps-step-up-what-the-ieas-heat-pump-monitor-2026-means-for-heating-industry-and-energy-security/)^[7](https://chemours.com/en/news-media-center/all-news/press-releases/2021/chemours-commends-the-supreme-peoples-court-for-upholding-honeywells-hfo-1234yf-patent)^[8](https://chemanager-online.com/en/node/403617)^[9](https://www.epa.gov/hfcs/technology-transitions-gwp-reference-table)^[10](https://www.coolingpost.com/world-news/honeywell-completes-solstice-spin-off) |
| **Compressors** | The compressor is the heart of the machine. About 90% of rotary compressor manufacturing capacity is in China; GMCC alone held about a quarter of world capacity in 2017. | GMCC, part of Midea (China) Gree (China) Shanghai Highly (China) Rechi (China) Daikin (Japan) Siam Compressor, Mitsubishi Electric subsidiary (Thailand) LG (South Korea)^[3](https://heatpumpingtechnologies.org/articles/heat-pumps-step-up-what-the-ieas-heat-pump-monitor-2026-means-for-heating-industry-and-energy-security/)^[6](https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/73206.pdf) |
| **Equipment makers** | Firms design and assemble outdoor and indoor units, controls and hot-water cylinders; the four named are cited by the IEA as R&D leaders. Components and materials are 60 to 85% of production cost. | Daikin (Japan) Midea (China) Nibe (Sweden) Carrier (United States)^[3](https://heatpumpingtechnologies.org/articles/heat-pumps-step-up-what-the-ieas-heat-pump-monitor-2026-means-for-heating-industry-and-energy-security/) |
| **Installers** | Heating engineers size the unit to the building's heat loss, fit pipework and emitters and commission the system. About 800,000 people work on heat pumps worldwide. | ^[3](https://heatpumpingtechnologies.org/articles/heat-pumps-step-up-what-the-ieas-heat-pump-monitor-2026-means-for-heating-industry-and-energy-security/) |
| **Owners and users** | Households, offices, district heating utilities and factories. In Stockholm about 500 MW of heat pumps supply roughly 10 to 20% of network heat. | ^[3](https://heatpumpingtechnologies.org/articles/heat-pumps-step-up-what-the-ieas-heat-pump-monitor-2026-means-for-heating-industry-and-energy-security/) |

#### Sources

1. [Heat Pumps Step Up: What the IEA's Heat Pump Monitor 2026 Means for Heating, Industry and Energy Security (summary of IEA Heat Pump Monitor 2026, https://www.iea.org/reports/heat-pump-monitor-2026)](https://heatpumpingtechnologies.org/articles/heat-pumps-step-up-what-the-ieas-heat-pump-monitor-2026-means-for-heating-industry-and-energy-security/) IEA Heat Pumping Technologies TCP, 2026
2. [Mapping the Supply Chain for Room Air Conditioning Compressors (NREL/TP-6A20-73206)](https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/73206.pdf) National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2019
3. [Chemours commends the Supreme People's Court for upholding Honeywell's HFO-1234yf patent](https://chemours.com/en/news-media-center/all-news/press-releases/2021/chemours-commends-the-supreme-peoples-court-for-upholding-honeywells-hfo-1234yf-patent) Chemours, 2021
4. [Honeywell in Refrigerant Deal With Juhua (HFO-1234yf toll manufacturing in China; dated)](https://chemanager-online.com/en/node/403617) CHEManager, 2016
5. [Technology Transitions GWP Reference Table](https://www.epa.gov/hfcs/technology-transitions-gwp-reference-table) US Environmental Protection Agency, 2025
6. [Honeywell completes Solstice spin-off](https://www.coolingpost.com/world-news/honeywell-completes-solstice-spin-off) Cooling Post, 2025

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_pumps/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_pumps/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_pumps/correlation/index.md)
- [Science and limits](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_pumps/science/index.md)
- [Unit economics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_pumps/economics/index.md)
- [Engineering methods](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_pumps/methods/index.md)
- [Equipment and suppliers](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_pumps/equipment/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_pumps/links/index.md)