Major industrial corporations from Asia are increasing their stakes in solar cooling, according to the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Program, which is supporting a multi-country research project.
Large industrial corporations such as Hitachi Plant Technologies and Mitsubishi Plastics have started to enter the solar cooling market. For example, Hitachi announced a goal last year of achieving a turnover of about $63 million by 2015 with its solar-powered air-conditioning system based on parabolic-trough collectors and absorption chillers. Also, this March, Mitsubishi set a target of $38 million for its new compact adsorption chiller series by 2015.
Several Chinese companies have indicated strong interest in participating in IEA's research project. They include Vicot Air Conditioning, a solar cooling system supplier and absorption chiller manufacturer; Shuangliang, an absorption chiller manufacturer; and Himin Solar, a solar collector manufacturer.
