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Panasonic has begun running a fuel cell system alongside an air-to-water heat pump at the Hydrogen House, a demonstration site operated by the Central Finland Mobility Foundation in Jyvaskyla, central Finland. The Japanese electronics maker said the project is trialing an integrated energy setup that combines its Pure Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology with an Aquarea air-to-water heat pump.
The arrangement supplies power to the building and thermal energy for space heating, aiming to boost overall energy efficiency and optimize hydrogen use. Panasonic noted that winter’s limited daylight in central Finland makes year-round reliance on solar generation challenging, so the demonstration will gauge how the combined fuel cell and heat pump system performs and scales under local conditions.
The Hydrogen House integrates rooftop photovoltaics with hydrogen production and storage. Electricity from the solar array drives an electrolyzer that generates hydrogen, which is kept in tanks holding up to 90 kg in total and distributed around the property via an underground pipeline.
The stored hydrogen serves several uses, including a fireplace, oven, grill and sauna. When photovoltaic output is insufficient, the fuel cell turns hydrogen into electricity. The system also captures waste heat from the fuel cell for thermal applications.
The heat pump delivers the house’s primary space heating and hot water, using electricity from the photovoltaic system or, when solar generation falls short, from the hydrogen fuel cell. Panasonic said that at full capacity the Pure Hydrogen Fuel Cell yields 10 kW of electrical output while the air-to-water heat pump supplies 9 kW of thermal output, without giving further technical details about the system.
Panasonic called the project one of the first integrated hydrogen energy demonstrations in Europe, comparable to existing projects in Japan. It said the effort is expected to offer valuable insights into the feasibility of indoor hydrogen energy systems and their integration with heating equipment under Finland’s harsh winter conditions.
Panasonic introduced its H2 Kibou pure hydrogen fuel cell system in 2021. The original 5 kW unit runs on hydrogen with a purity above 99.97% and has an electrical efficiency of 56%. Panasonic said heat recovery can raise the system’s overall energy efficiency to as much as 95%.
The company has also deployed the technology in systems that combine hydrogen fuel cells, solar photovoltaics and battery storage. In 2022 it commissioned a demonstration facility at its fuel cell factory in Kusatsu, Japan, with 99 H2 Kibou units totaling 495 kW of capacity, plus a 570 kW photovoltaic array and 1.1 MWh of battery storage. Panasonic later deployed a similar setup at its microwave oven factory in Cardiff, Wales, pairing 21 5 kW hydrogen fuel cell generators with 372 kW of photovoltaics and 1 MWh of battery storage.
Panasonic has sold its Aquarea air-to-water heat pumps in Europe since 2008. The systems provide space heating and domestic hot water by drawing heat from ambient air. The company has broadened the Aquarea range over the years, including models using propane (R290) as a refrigerant.
Panasonic later introduced its Aquarea L series for residential applications. The R290 units offer heating capacities from 5 kW to 8 kW and can deliver hot water at temperatures up to 75 C. They are also smart-grid ready for integration with rooftop photovoltaic systems.
In July 2025, Panasonic further expanded its R290 portfolio with the launch of the Aquarea DHW Heat Pump, a dedicated domestic hot water solution. The system uses ambient air as an additional energy source and comes in both wall-mounted and floor-standing configurations.
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