Driving Innovation for High-Temperature Solutions: Meet HPT at the 2026 IEA Heat Pump Conference
Researchers from KTH’s HPT division would be presenting cutting-edge research on ultra high-temperature heat pumps at the 15th IEA Heat Pump Conference, taking place from May 26 – 29 2026 in Vienna, Austria. From component-level design to full system validation, our researchers, actively engaged in with industry, would be sharing results from ongoing EU-funded projects and industrial collaboration at the conference. The IEA Heat Pump Conference is a leading international platform dedicated to advancing heat pump technologies and accelerating decarbonization. Bringing together researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers through presentations, workshops, and technical discussions, the event is slated to foster innovation and collaboration in the field.
Will you be attending? Come find us in Vienna and connect with our team. Not attending? Feel free to reach out to learn more about our work, partnerships and contributions to the conference.
Discover our researchers and their respective contributions to the conference
Emily will be making an oral presentation about her work on the “Preliminary design of an oil-cooled supercritical CO₂ heat exchanger for applications in high-temperature heat pumps” during the session ICO4 Innovative Components – Heat Exchangers 2 on Thursday, May 28 (09:00–10:20).
The presentation will focus on the preliminary design of a gas cooler for an ultra high-temperature CO₂ heat pump which was carried out within the
COMHPTES project
. As the key interface between the heat pump and the hot thermal energy storage system, the gas cooler is critical to ensuring efficient performance and safe operation under elevated temperatures and pressures.
Zanil will also be giving an oral presentation on his work titled “Test rig and experimental design for a high temperature CO₂ pumped thermal energy storage system” in the session HTH10.2 High Temperature Heat Pumps for Industrial Applications – Thermal Energy Storage, Carnot Batteries & Steam Generation Systems on Friday, May 29 at 13:20. The presentation will introduce the test rig design for an ultra high-temperature CO₂-based heat pump and thermal energy storage system. The test rig is slated to validate the system at TRL 5, simulating diverse industrial demand profiles such as drying, steam production, and simultaneous heating and cooling. The work will outline expected operating modes and key outcomes of the upcoming experimental campaign, also within the COMHPTES project .
Mateo will deliver a pitch presentation titled “Integrated High-Temperature Heat Pump and Thermal Energy Storage Laboratory Rig – Development of the validation plant and preliminary commissioning results” in HTH14.5 High Temperature Heat Pumps for Industrial Applications – Natural Refrigerants, Thermal Storage & Low-GWP Cycle Innovation on Wednesday, May 27 at 17:25.
The pitch will present the development of a laboratory-scale validation plant integrating an ultra high-temperature Stirling heat pump with dual thermal energy storage units. Designed for industrial process heat applications, the system upgrades heat - sourced from a low-temperature water stream, to 200–250 °C using helium as the working fluid. Carried out within the
SUSHEAT project
, the test rig is being developed to validate the integrated technologies at TRL 5, and the presentation will highlight early commissioning results and expected operational performance. Additional details on the aforementioned contributions can be found in the
2026 IEA Heat Pump Conference program
.
The research on high-temperature heat pumps within our division is part of a broader effort to electrify industrial heat and integrate thermal energy storage solutions for more flexible and sustainable energy systems. We look forward to sharing our latest developments, exchanging insights with peers, and strengthening collaborations at the conference.
Much of the presented work is carried out within major EU-funded projects such as SUSHEAT and COMHPTES , which focus on enabling efficient and scalable solutions for industrial heat decarbonization. However, for more information on our division’s broader activities in ultra high-temperature heat pumps, such as our work in other projects like UP-FLEXH and I-UPS , feel free to connect with our division head, who will also be attending the conference 👉
