Midea went to Europe to build a factory!

Midea went to Europe to build a factory! The demand for heat pumps in Europe is increasing, and the export of domestic heat pumps is expected to usher in explosive growth

Catalyzed by the European energy crisis, global heat pump heating products are still in a state of shortage, and giants at home and abroad have begun to accelerate the layout or expand heat pump production capacity. On October 14, Midea Group (000333.SZ) Building Technology's new production and R&D base invested in Europe started construction and laid the foundation stone in Italy. According to the plan, the new production base will invest 60 million euros, including the heat pump production center and R&D center, with an annual production capacity of 300,000 heat pumps, which is expected to be put into operation in the second quarter of 2024. East Asia Qianhai Securities stated that benefiting from the long-term goal of climate neutrality in Europe and the urgent need to solve energy shortages, with the strong support of European policies, it is expected to usher in the explosive growth of my country's air source heat pump exports.

A heat pump is a heating device that is driven by electric energy and can efficiently utilize low-grade heat energy. It is used in households, commercial places, industrial and agricultural fields, and can meet customers' needs for heating, hot water, and drying. At present, in the household market, air source heat pump products mainly involve heating, water supply, drying and other products.

In terms of overseas markets, the long-term trend of double carbon has superimposed the recent soaring prices of energy sources such as natural gas and oil in Europe, and the pressure of living costs has promoted more efficient and energy-saving heating methods, driving the demand for heat pumps in Europe to soar. According to data from the European Heat Pump Association, heat pump sales are already on the rise under the dual-carbon trend. In 2021, the highest sales volume in Europe is 537,000 units in France, 382,000 units in Italy, and 177,000 units in Germany. The sales volume of the three countries accounts for half of the EU market. In 2021, the overall sales of heat pumps in Europe will exceed 2 million units, a year-on-year growth rate of more than 25%.

According to the calculation of Cinda Securities, the market space of household heat pumps in the European market will reach 37.73 million units in the future, superimposing the demand for commercial and industrial heat pumps. It is estimated that the long-term market demand for heat pumps in Europe will exceed 40 million units in the future, and the market size will exceed 400 billion euros . In the next five years, the European heat pump market is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate of about 18%.

The rapid rise of overseas demand for heat pumps has opened up a new growth path for domestic heat pump companies. At present, China's heat pump production capacity accounts for about 20% of the world's total. Guosen Securities pointed out that China is the largest consumer of heat pumps in the world and the largest exporter of heat pumps in the world. In 2022, the export demand for air source heat pumps will continue to explode. According to industry online statistics, from January to August this year, the cumulative export value of air source heat pumps increased by 63.7% year-on-year, which was mainly due to the sharp increase in exports of heating heat pumps. China's heat pump export destinations are mainly Italy, Australia, Spain and other countries. From January to August, Italian export sales increased by as much as 181%.

As an important strategic layout of European electrification, heat pumps have ushered in explosive growth in the short-term energy crisis. In addition, the domestic market also has a long-term growth trend under the background of carbon neutrality, and heat pumps are becoming an area of great concern to market funds.

In terms of domestic enterprises, at present, Gree Electric Appliances, Midea Group, and Haier Zhijia have a complete layout in heat pump technology and products, and their market shares are stable and occupy the top three positions in the industry. In addition, Sunrise Dongfang is the target of domestic air energy water heaters. The company's business mainly involves clean energy thermal energy products based on solar energy and air energy. In 2021, its air energy system will account for more than 14% of the overall revenue. At the same time, Wanhe Electric and Vantage are also related to air energy and hot water.

East Asia Qianhai Securities stated that benefiting from the long-term goal of climate neutrality in Europe and the urgent need to solve energy shortages, with the strong support of European policies, it is expected to usher in the explosive growth of my country's air source heat pump exports. At the same time, my country's air source heat pump market started late, with a scattered structure and uneven technical levels. Companies with deep product technology accumulation are expected to enjoy industry dividends faster. Pay attention to the deployment of air source heat pump products by the leaders in the home appliance industry with strong comprehensive strength, and the professional air source heat pump companies with strong technical strength.