AHR Expo 2026: Hitachi Scroll Compressor Highlights High-Efficiency Scroll Compressor Innovations

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- From February 2 to 4, Hitachi Scroll Compressor returned to the AHR Expo 2026 in the United States for the second consecutive year, underscoring its sustained engagement with the North American market. As one of the HVACR industry's most influential global events, the AHR Expo brings together manufacturers, engineers, contractors, and decision-makers to showcase cutting-edge technologies and exchange insights shaping the future of HVACR. Against this backdrop, Hitachi Scroll Compressor highlighted a focused portfolio of scroll compressor solutions aligned with the industry's efficiency and decarbonization goals.

"Our continued engagement with the AHR Expo reflects both consistency and strategic focus," said Wisdom Hao, GM of Guangzhou Bosch Home Comfort Group Compressor Technology Co., Ltd. "North America remains a key strategic region, particularly as it faces tighter performance benchmarks and higher expectations for long-term operational stability."

Through the showcase at the AHR Expo 2026, Hitachi Scroll Compressor presented its newly launched products alongside proven models, demonstrating how the portfolio evolves to meet customer requirements.

A major highlight at its booth was its newly introduced high-efficiency low-side scroll compressor, designed in response to rising efficiency expectations and application demands in the unitary market. Aligned with global energy-saving and decarbonization trends, the product delivers measurable improvements in seasonal efficiency, lower operating noise, and stable performance under varying load conditions. It represents the latest generation in Hitachi's scroll compressor technology roadmap, building on decades of expertise while introducing targeted upgrades for today's efficiency-driven market.

The two-stage design originates from the world's first scroll compressor family developed by Hitachi and inherits its benchmark performance and durability. An upgraded solenoid valve enables precise two-step capacity control, supporting more efficient part-load operation, while the scroll load design has been optimized to meet SEER2 requirements. A newly developed motor improves light-load performance, and high-precision machining and assembly contribute to durability and operational stability. Dual compliance for liquid and debris handling further strengthens robustness in real-world conditions.

In addition to low-side solutions, Hitachi Scroll Compressor showcased a lineup of high-side scroll compressors addressing a broader range of North American applications, including heat pump heating and cooling, commercial refrigeration and cold storage, as well as data center and equipment cooling. As demand increases for systems capable of stable operation across wider temperature ranges, the high-side scroll compressors offer strong adaptability and performance consistency.

Designed with a wide operating envelope, the high-side scroll compressors support stable operation in both heating and cooling modes. They are compatible with environmentally friendly refrigerants such as R290, R32, and R454B, aligning with the industry's shift toward lower-global-warming-potential solutions. Compatibility with enhanced vapor injection technology further enhances heating efficiency, particularly in colder climates.

Together, the technologies presented at AHR Expo underscored Hitachi Scroll Compressor's innovation strategy—advancing core compressor technologies while closely aligning with regulatory trends and end-user priorities. From residential and light commercial systems to complex industrial applications, the company's portfolio is designed to help equipment manufacturers achieve higher efficiency, quieter operation, and dependable long-term performance.

Looking ahead, Hitachi Scroll Compressor plans to deepen collaboration across the HVACR value chain, using international platforms such as AHR Expo to share insights, gather market feedback, and accelerate the adoption of efficient, reliable, and sustainable compressor technologies amid the global energy transition.

For more information, please visit https://compressors.hitachiaircon.com/en.

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AHR Expo 2026: Hitachi Scroll Compressor Highlights High-Efficiency Scroll Compressor Innovations

HANGZHOU, China, April 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A team led by principal investigators Bobo Dang and Ting Zhou at Westlake University/Westlake Laboratory reported in Science a high-throughput platform for engineering fast-acting covalent protein therapeutics. Their work, titled "A high-throughput selection system for fast-acting covalent protein drugs," opens new avenues for next-generation biologics.

Covalent small-molecule drugs have shown great success in cancer therapy by forming irreversible bonds with their targets. This has inspired efforts to extend covalent strategies to protein therapeutics, especially engineered miniproteins. However, their development is limited by a kinetic mismatch: Miniproteins are rapidly cleared in vivo, whereas covalent bond formation is typically slow. In addition, high-throughput platforms for systematically optimizing covalent protein reactivity have been lacking.

To address this challenge, the researchers proposed that precise spatial positioning of chemical warheads within protein scaffolds could enable molecular preorganization, thereby accelerating covalent bond formation without increasing intrinsic reactivity (Fig. 1).

Based on this concept, the team developed a high-throughput platform that combines yeast surface display with chemoselective protein modification to screen diverse crosslinkers and millions of protein variants. By optimizing warhead placement and the local chemical environment, the platform enables rapid and irreversible target engagement.

Using this platform, the researchers developed a covalent antagonist targeting PD-L1, termed IB101. Structural analysis revealed that IB101 forms a defined binding pocket that precisely positions the warhead in a reactive conformation, greatly accelerating covalent bond formation. Functionally, IB101 effectively blocks the PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint pathway and demonstrates strong antitumor activity in mouse models. Notably, despite its short in vivo half-life, IB101 achieves durable target engagement and tumor suppression, outperforming conventional antibody-based therapies under comparable conditions.

The platform was further applied to cytokine engineering, leading to the development of a covalent IL-18 variant, IB201. This engineered cytokine rapidly forms a covalent interaction with its receptor, enhancing signaling strength and duration. In vivo studies showed that IB201 induces potent antitumor immune responses without detectable systemic toxicity. These results highlight the potential of covalent engineering to improve the efficacy and safety of cytokine-based therapies.

Beyond immunotherapy targets, the platform was also applied to develop a covalent inhibitor targeting the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2. This molecule achieves durable viral neutralization, demonstrating the versatility of the approach across different therapeutic modalities.

This study establishes a general strategy for engineering fast-acting covalent protein therapeutics. By enabling covalent bond formation on timescales compatible with rapid in vivo clearance, the platform overcomes a fundamental limitation in the field.

These findings provide a new framework for designing biologics with both rapid kinetics and sustained target engagement, with broad implications for cancer immunotherapy, antiviral therapy, and beyond.

Media Contact: 

Chi Zhang
media@westlake.edu.cn 
+86-15659837873

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Fast-Acting Covalent Protein Drugs From a New High-Throughput Platform