LG Electronics (066570.KS) is accelerating the shift toward carbon neutrality at industrial sites with high-temperature, large-capacity industrial heat pumps. The company's strategy is to apply electricity-based thermal energy solutions to industrial areas that require high-temperature water, from the paper-drying process at paper mills to the sterilization process at food factories, cutting both carbon emissions and energy costs at the same time.
LG Electronics said Wednesday that it recently completed the supply of a 1,000-refrigeration-ton (RT) large-capacity industrial heat pump system to Ajin P&P, a paper company based in Daegu, and began full-scale operation early this month. The project is part of a national "2050 Carbon Neutrality" research and development initiative overseen by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), pursued since 2023 by 15 industry-academia-research institutions including LG Electronics.
Industrial heat pumps require far higher temperatures and capacities than household or commercial ones. The product LG Electronics supplied this time raised the outlet water temperature from the roughly 90 degrees of existing industrial heat pumps to 108 degrees. The maximum outlet temperature reaches 118 degrees. Cooling capacity was designed at up to 1,040 RT to handle large-capacity processes.
High-temperature water above 100 degrees can be used in the drying process essential to paper production, the product-sterilization process at food factories, and various industrial sites such as chemicals and oil refining. In the past, burning fossil fuels to produce heat was the common method, but heat pumps supply heat by using electric energy and recovering waste heat. As a result, they can reduce carbon emissions while improving energy efficiency, the company explained.
LG Electronics improved the efficiency of its industrial heat pump by applying its own "large-capacity oil-free magnetic bearing" technology. Because no lubricating oil is needed, it reduces maintenance burden and can also be expected to cut electricity costs. As a refrigerant, it uses R-1233zd, which has a global warming potential (GWP) of just 1, strengthening its environmental friendliness.
Its technological competitiveness has also been recognized in succession. LG Electronics received the Korea Technology Award in 2024 for its "low-carbon electricity-based oil-free multistage compression heating and cooling technology," and in 2026 it won the IR52 Jang Young-shil Award for its "oil-free turbo heating and cooling equipment."
LG Electronics is expanding its industrial heat pump business at home and abroad. In 2024, it supplied an industrial water-source heat pump to the Korea World Trade Center (COEX), and in 2025 it supplied an industrial heat pump for district heating to Danish energy company Ørsted. It is currently continuing order activities at industrial sites in North America and Europe, including the United States, Canada, Norway and Finland.
The company is also broadening its heat pump business base in the household and commercial markets. LG Electronics has continued its domestic household heat pump system boiler business since 2011, accumulating related infrastructure. Recently, it received the highest score in an evaluation for the "2026 Jeju Heat Pump Distribution Project for Daily Life" pursued by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, and was selected as the top operator.
"In the heat pump field, which is fundamentally changing the way heating, cooling and thermal energy are used not only in residential spaces and commercial facilities but also at industrial sites, we will strengthen our push into the global market with differentiated core components and technology," said Lee Jae-sung, president and head of LG Electronics' ES Business Division.
