On April 16, the publicity and implementation meeting of the "Action Plan for Promoting the High-quality Development of the Heat Pump Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan") was held in Beijing. The aim is to promote the implementation of the Action Plan, expand the application opportunities of the heat pump industry in fields such as construction, petroleum, textiles, and chemical engineering, and enhance the level of green, low-carbon, and high-quality development of the heat pump industry. This is the first special meeting on the Action Plan in the heat pump industry since the implementation of the Action Plan, which was organized by the Heat Pump Professional Committee of the China Energy Conservation Association.

The Action Plan was jointly issued by six departments including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Transport, and the National Energy Administration in early April. It covers the main areas of the heat pump application ecosystem and puts forward specific requirements for the whole life cycle of heat pump design and research and development, production and manufacturing, promotion and application, and equipment renewal. Its greater value lies in not only indicating that the heat pump industry, as an independent industry, has been recognized at the national level, but also marking that China's clean energy heating has entered a new stage of development, and laying the foundation for promoting the inclusion of air energy in the category of renewable energy at the national level.

At the end of March, Beijing passed the "Regulations on the Development and Utilization of Renewable Energy in Beijing", which for the first time included air energy in the category of renewable energy alongside solar energy and geothermal energy. It is of great significance that Beijing included air energy in the category of legal renewable energy. Firstly, as the capital, Beijing has a demonstrative role. Secondly, as a super-large city that took the lead in using air source heat pumps to replace traditional coal-fired heating methods, Beijing has gained valuable successful experience.

01 Policy Traction: From International Consensus to Chinese Practice

In fact, globally, China, Europe, Japan, the United States, etc. are the core components supporting the development of the global air source heat pump industry. The European Union was the first to give policy recognition to air source heat pumps.

In 2009, the European Union was the first to include air heat energy in the statistical framework of the "Renewable Energy Directive". Subsequently, in 2018, the International Energy Agency (IEA) included air source heat pumps in the renewable energy statistical framework for the first time, providing a technical basis for global policy formulation. In 2021, Japan's "Green Growth Strategy" increased the subsidy for air energy equipment to 50%. In 2022, the United States' "Inflation Reduction Act" accelerated the popularization of heat pumps through tax credits.

China's research on including air heat energy in renewable energy began in 2011. The China Heat Pump Industry Alliance (the predecessor of the Heat Pump Professional Committee of the China Energy Conservation Association) organized experts and scholars in Beijing to launch a special research on "including air heat energy in renewable energy", officially starting the strategic layout of promoting air source heat pump technology to enter the national renewable energy system.

In 2015, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the "Guidance Manual for Incorporating Air Heat Energy into the Category of Renewable Energy". After that, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has explicitly stated many times in its official important documents that air source heat pumps are renewable energy technologies, and the renewable energy they use is called air heat energy, laying a policy foundation for the large-scale application of heat pump technology and providing technical standard support for local legislation. From assisting the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in researching air heat energy, to promoting its application in construction and industrial coordination, the China Heat Pump Industry Alliance has made great contributions, thus starting the identification of the renewable energy status of air heat energy by local governments.

In 2015, Zhejiang Province took the lead in issuing the "Accounting Standard for the Application of Renewable Energy in Civil Buildings", which clearly stated that buildings with domestic hot water needs should give priority to choosing air energy heat pump hot water systems. Subsequently, in the "Regulations on Promoting the Development and Utilization of Renewable Energy" issued in 2017, it was proposed to "develop air heat energy according to local conditions", and air source heat pump hot water systems were clearly included in the category of renewable energy. Since then, provinces such as Jiangsu, Shandong, and Guangxi have included air heat energy in local renewable energy regulations, and local areas have clarified the "renewable energy" status of air energy, providing a boost for the development of air energy.

The identification of the status of air source heat pumps at the national level has also been accelerated. In 2021, the national standard "General Code for Building Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Utilization" clearly listed air source heat pumps as renewable energy building application technologies. In 2024, the policy document jointly issued by six departments including the National Development and Reform Commission clearly included air source heat pumps in renewable energy technologies, which means that a consensus has been reached at the government management level.

The Heat Pump Professional Committee of the China Energy Conservation Association has made great contributions to the work of including air heat energy in renewable energy. As the earliest established, most professional, and most widely participated industry organization in the heat pump industry in China, the China Heat Pump Industry Alliance, the predecessor of the Heat Pump Professional Committee of the China Energy Conservation Association, was established in 2009. From 2011 to 2025, for 15 years, it has been playing the role of a communication platform between the government and industrial enterprises.

The Heat Pump Professional Committee of the China Energy Conservation Association has not only actively participated in the formulation of relevant policies for including air heat energy in renewable energy, but also promoted this work through various forms such as organizing seminars, issuing reports, and assisting deputies to the National People's Congress in submitting proposals. In addition, since the development of the European heat pump industry and policy formulation are ahead of China, the professional committee has also actively cooperated with international heat pump organizations, and organized international exchanges through methods such as "bringing in" and "going out", injecting new vitality into the development of China's heat pump industry.
Note: In 2014, the China Heat Pump Industry Alliance signed a cooperation memorandum with the European Heat Pump Association. Over the past 10 years, China and Europe have maintained close exchanges and cooperation.

02 Technological Breakthrough: From a "Heat Transporter" to Clean Heating

The essence of heat pump technology is an energy-saving and environmentally friendly technology. It uses the principle of the reverse Carnot cycle, drives the heat pump unit with a small amount of energy, circulates the working medium in the heat pump system, absorbs and compresses the low-temperature heat in the natural environment (such as air, soil, water) and then utilizes it. The industry also calls it a transporter of nature's heat.

Starting from the application of hot water, heat pump water heaters are a typical form of utilization of this technology. It can generate the heat equivalent to four units of electricity with the consumption of one unit of electricity, and has huge energy-saving advantages compared with electric water heaters, and is highly favored by consumers in markets such as Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Hunan. With the continuous progress of technology, the application scope of heat pump technology has gradually expanded from hot water supply to multiple fields such as heating and drying.

The application of heat pump heating has truly led to a wider recognition of heat pump technology. Heat pump technology absorbs the heat in the air and converts it into high-temperature heat energy, providing a clean and efficient heating solution for buildings. This heating method not only has significant energy-saving effects but also reduces the dependence on traditional fossil energy, which is of great significance for promoting the transformation of the energy structure and dealing with climate change.

Since 2015, Beijing has taken the lead in replacing traditional coal-fired boilers through heat pump renovations, starting a 10-year coal-to-electricity project in the Chinese market. Data shows that in the past ten years, more than 1 million rural households in Beijing have used heat pumps for heating. In 2024, the proportion of air source heat pump heating in renewable energy heating in Beijing has reached 56%. Heat pump technology has made outstanding contributions to reducing coal consumption and preventing air pollution. Subsequently, coal-to-electricity projects have been carried out in northern regions such as Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, Tianjin, and Inner Mongolia. According to relevant data statistics, the number of northern users using heat pump heating has exceeded 5 million households.

Since 2015, the Heat Pump Professional Committee of the China Energy Conservation Association has deeply participated in the formulation and implementation supervision of Beijing's clean heating policies, and promoted air source heat pumps to become the core technical route of the "coal-to-electricity" project in northern regions. At the same time, it has also promoted heat pump clean heating solutions to other northern provinces such as Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong, further expanding the scope of technology application.

03 Market Collaboration: From Policy Dividends to Ecological Reconstruction

The rapid development of the air source heat pump industry is fundamentally supported by policies. In the past ten years, the heat pump industry has entered a new golden age. "The best, irreplaceable energy-saving, environmentally friendly, and low-carbon heating technology" has almost become the consensus of mainstream domestic experts on heat pumps. The scale of China's heat pump market has grown from about 8 billion yuan in 2014 to about 33 billion yuan at present, with an average annual growth rate of over 17%.

In the southern market, the application of air energy hot water, as the earliest developed application field, has been fully proven. Air energy water heaters are energy-saving and practical new energy equipment. In the northern market, the coal-to-electricity policy continues. Heat pumps no longer only meet the heating needs of the Yangtze River Basin, but have extended northward across the Yellow River and even into Northeast China. From -15°C to -25°C, and then to -35°C, heat pump technology has continuously overcome the heating problems under ultra-low temperature conditions.

On the application side, heat pump technology has been extended to industrial and agricultural applications. In industrial production, air source heat pumps can be used to prepare industrial high-temperature steam at 150°C, improving energy utilization efficiency. In the agricultural field, heat pumps can be used for greenhouse cultivation, increasing production and quality. New heat pump systems, materials, and control technologies have emerged continuously, combined with photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, energy storage, heat storage, etc., further enhancing the performance and application scope of heat pumps. With strong encouragement of heat pump applications from the national policy side, in addition to expanding the industry scale, there has also been technological progress. The application of heat pumps has been expanded to higher energy efficiency, lower environmental temperatures, higher temperatures, and broader application fields.

All in all, the 15-year journey of air heat energy from the "periphery" to the "center" reveals the unique development path of air source heat pumps: policy traction, technological breakthroughs, and market collaboration. The Action Plan is just the starting point. It is believed that corresponding favorable policies will continue. This "marathon" will surely give birth to a cleaner and more efficient new heating ecosystem, and will inevitably bring about a broad and profound clean heating revolution.