Heat pump maker Hydro-Temp Corp. of Pocahontas has been awarded a $10.85 million federal grant to expand its production facility.
Hydro-Temp’s expansion is among nine projects awarded a portion of $169 million to increase domestic production of five key clean energy technologies, including electric heat pumps. The grant from the U.S. Department of Energy was awarded under President Joe Biden’s invocation of the Defense Production Act in 2022.
Such projects will help reduce the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels, boost energy independence to strengthen national defense, and lower consumer energy costs, the Energy Department said.
Hydro-Temp currently manufactures the subassemblies used to build heat pumps for Energy Catalyst of Watervliet, New York, as well as manufacturing for other heat pump brands, including Geo-Cool/MrCool.
Energy Catalyst makes the only ground source Energy Star certified heat pump in North America that can reuse the existing heating infrastructure of a home heated with baseboard or radiators.
The company teamed up with Hydro-Temp on a proposed co-development to increase their annual heat pump production from about 250 units per year to more than 5,000 units by 2025, according to an Energy Department news release.
If there’s sufficient demand, the facility upgrades in Pocahontas will allow manufacturing capacity to expand to more than 5,000 units annually by 2027.
The new facility is expected to hire up to 80 new, full-time employees, according to the release. Hydro-Temp will also set up cooperative agreements with Black River Technical College for an HVAC job development and factory training program.
Energy Catalyst plans to retrofit a facility that will allow their manufacturing capabilities to meet the current and expected future geothermal heat pump demand. The company plans to hire up to 50 employees over 5 years.
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