Midea Building Technologies Showcases "Smart in One" Integrated Building Solutions at AHR Expo 2026

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Midea Building Technologies is showcasing its comprehensive suite of cutting-edge smart building solutions under the theme "Smart in One" at the 2026 AHR Expo. The exhibition features a diverse portfolio of advanced technologies designed to address the evolving demands of key sectors, including data centers, industrial parks, and commercial buildings. Prominently featured solutions at the booth include the MagBoost Apex Pro magnetic bearing centrifugal chiller, flexible VRF systems, sustainable heat pump technologies, and the integrative Midea iBUILDING digital platform.

High-Efficiency Centrifugal Chiller for Demanding Cooling
The MagBoost Apex Pro magnetic bearing centrifugal chiller represents a significant advancement in HVAC technology, incorporating Midea's patented second-generation oil-free magnetic bearing system. This innovative design eliminates mechanical friction and enhances efficiency and operational reliability. The unit achieves exceptional performance with an IPLV of up to 9.71 when using R1234ze(E) refrigerant. Designed for longevity, the compressor offers a 30-year lifespan with IP67 protection and operates at just 70 dB(A). Its modular design allows up to 16 units to be combined without extra controls, while supporting both R1234ze(E) and R513A refrigerants for reduced environmental impact.

Thermal Management Solution for Data Centers
With the rapid growth of AI computing and high-density server deployments, data centers require cooling solutions that deliver both efficiency and reliability. Midea provides a full-stack thermal management solution for data centers. The precise CDUs, high-performance fan walls and efficient chillers form the cornerstone of ultra-efficient data centers, enabling PUEs as low as 1.2. Multi-level redundancy and leak-proof technologies guarantee 24/7 cooling system reliability, empowering innovation without compromise.

Intelligent Integration as a Core Principle
Midea iBUILDING, a comprehensive digital platform developed by Midea Building Technologies, enables intelligent building management through seamless connectivity across devices, data, and scenarios. Its award-winning smart gateway enables connectivity to multiple types of equipment—including VRF systems, heat pumps, and chillers—through a single unit, supporting various communication protocols. With native BACnet and Modbus integration, the platform ensures seamless compatibility with existing Building Management Systems (BMS). The platform provides two core applications: iEasyComfort offers operational visibility and energy monitoring for end users, while iEasyCare enables predictive maintenance with real-time fault detection and performance analysis for service and maintenance personnel. These tools support proactive maintenance, energy optimization, and enhanced system reliability.

A Unified Answer to Diverse Challenges
"Our presence at AHR goes beyond displaying products; it's about presenting a holistic answer," said a spokesperson for Midea Building Technologies. "The 'Smart in One' philosophy is about providing interconnected solutions that directly tackle the core challenges of energy intensity, operational resilience, and management complexity across sectors like data centers, transportation hubs, industrial parks, and commercial buildings." This integrated approach positions Midea not just as an equipment supplier, but as a partner in advancing the global building industry towards a more sustainable and intelligent future.

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Midea Building Technologies Showcases "Smart in One" Integrated Building Solutions at AHR Expo 2026

Midea Building Technologies Showcases "Smart in One" Integrated Building Solutions at AHR Expo 2026

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