Japanese OEM MHI to Release 80HP CO₂ Condensing Unit in Japan

In a statement released on December 1, Japanese OEM Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration (MHI) announced the addition of an 80HP model to its lineup of C-Puzzle CO₂ (R744) condensing units. 

The unit will go on sale only in Japan in the summer of 2021. 

The development of the 80HP model responds not only to the “rising demand for larger-capacity refrigeration systems [in the cold storage sector], but [will] also expand the range of applications beyond refrigerated storage to further include food freezing and ice making,” the statement said. The 80-HP system targets the food manufacturing industry, said Taichi Kayama, a manager for MHI’s low temperature food sales and engineering division.

The 80HP model will join MHI's 10-, 20- and 40-HP C-Puzzle CO₂ condensing units, which have already seen success in Japan. In July last year, the company said that it had sold 160 of its 10- and 20-HP C-Puzzle CO₂ condensing units in Japan so far that fiscal year, already doubling its sales from its 2018 fiscal year (MHI’s fiscal year runs from April through March). 

The company subsequently launched its 40HP CO₂ system in December 2019, with sales beginning this past summer. 

Most of MHI's 10- and 20-HP CO₂ systems are being used in cold storage facilities, Kayama said last year. 

Like the 80HP unit, the 40-HP system targets the food manufacturing industry.