INNOVA Group R&D · Tione di Trento, Italy

From idea to series production of HVAC and refrigeration machines.

For OEM manufacturers: one partner that designs, tests and industrialises, with a structured development flow and project management. Innovation capability proven in the INNOVA group's European research projects.

The Innova Engineering building in Tione di Trento

Idea → seriescomplete development: specification, prototypes, testing, industrialisation and in-service monitoring

10types of machines developed, from heat pumps to mobile refrigeration

6LIFE, Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020 and regional research projects, two coordinated by the INNOVA group

< 150 gof propane: charge of the first double-duct air conditioner, LIFE ZEROGWP project

About us

The R&D centre of the INNOVA group

Dedicated site in Tione di Trento since 2022 (1,500 m²). The INNOVA group, active since 2003, designs and manufactures in Trentino: every project starts with series production as a constraint, not as a final step.

Thermodynamics, mechanics, electronics and firmware in one team, with dedicated project management
Test laboratory, prototype workshop and electronics laboratory on site
ISO 9001:2015 quality system and phase-based development with frozen specification and revisions

The façade of the Innova Engineering building

The engineering offices of Innova Engineering

Method

Development flow: phases and deliverables

Documented standard flow: coded activities, verification samples for each phase and approval gates with the customer.

Development flow: phases and deliverables
N.	Phase	Activities	Deliverable
01	Start and feasibility	Preliminary analysis and techno-economic feasibility, demonstrator check sample, preliminary specification attached to the development contract.	Preliminary specification, contract, WBS
02	Project management	Kick-off, multi-level planning, risk analysis (DFMEA with residual LVD risk, project FMEA), frozen and maintained specification.	Plan, FMEA, specification with revisions
03	Design	Thermodynamics, mechanics with FEM, electronic control (hardware and firmware), aesthetics and interface, costs and tooling break-even; LVD and EMC pre-compliance. Phase approval with the customer.	P&ID, schematics, 3D, costed BOM, firmware
04	Laboratory validation	Verification samples per component and per laboratory, qualification plan filtered on the FMEA, tests with checklists, report review.	Test plan, reports, archived data
05	Field test and life test	Verification samples in the field: start-up, commissioning, monitoring with data logging.	Field logs, report
06	Certifications	Electrical safety (EN 60335-1, -2-40), EMC and RED, PED, ErP and labelling, MEPS, REACH and RoHS.	Technical file, conformity reports
07	Transfer to production	Final technical file, series sample with acceptance test, tests on final units; line support (layout, timing, station suppliers), budget and final-approval gates, pilot production.	File, test protocol, pilot line
08	Series and operation	Firmware version per serial number, staged over-the-air updates with rollback, post-release support.	Series product, monitored fleet

Capabilities

What we design

A broad technology stack: refrigerant cycles of every kind, heat transfer, thermal storage, air handling, hydronics, direct expansion and domestic hot water.

Machines we have worked on

Air-to-water heat pumps (ATW)
Air-to-air heat pumps (ATA)
Water-to-water heat pumps (WTW)
Water-to-air terminals (WTA, WLHP)
Heat pump water heaters (DHW)
Fan coils
Heat recovery and mechanical ventilation (VMC) units
Sensible and PCM thermal storage
Low-voltage (DC) platform
Mobile refrigeration

Thermodynamics and systems

Air-to-air, air-to-water, water-to-water and brine refrigerant cycles; direct expansion and hydronics
Custom heat exchangers and minimum-charge circuits for propane; fans and electronic expansion valves
Sensible and phase-change (PCM) thermal storage, integrated in the heat pump control
Air handling, heat recovery, domestic hot water
CFD simulations (SolidWorks Flow Simulation, OpenFOAM) of air paths and finned-coil heat exchangers, with parameters derived from enthalpic-tunnel tests; digital twin of the plant

Mechanical and product design

Frame + aesthetics architecture: several installation variants and brands on the same platform
Design for assembly and for volumes: plastic, sheet-metal and EPS tooling
Static, modal and fatigue FEM analysis (SolidWorks Simulation); experimental fatigue on tubes with strain gauges

Electronic control

Hardware and firmware designed in-house: control boards and inverter drives for compressors and fans
Touch LCD displays, thermostats and interfaces in the customer's brand
Connectivity, cloud and remote updates
Operating data and diagnostics for service

Prototyping

In-house workshop: CNC machining, bending, 3D printing
Electronics laboratory for board assembly and testing
Functional and production-twin prototypes; field units with remote logging

Testing

Performance per EN 14511, seasonal per EN 14825, acoustics per EN 12102-1, domestic hot water per EN 16147, VMC per EN 13141-7
Climatic chambers from −30 to +50 °C, semi-anechoic chamber, enthalpic tunnel
Flammable A2L (R32, R454C) and A3 (R290) refrigerants in ATEX Zone 2
Helium leak testing, refrigerant charging, recovery and vacuum
HVAC tests for certification (Kiwa) and electrical safety (UL); testing also for third parties

Industrialisation and series

Costed bill of materials, value engineering, supplier qualification
Assembly cycle and end-of-line test with firmware traceability per serial number
Certification support: CE marking, HP Keymark, non-EU markets
Telemetry and updates in operation

Electronic control

Hardware and firmware designed in-house

An in-house control platform cuts dependencies and lead times: the customer gets a connected product that can be updated and serviced remotely.

Hardware and firmware designed in-house
Layer	Capability	Benefit for the customer
Power and drives	Inverter drivers for compressors from 3 to 8 kW (single- and three-phase), drive of DC fans and pumps, designed to safety and EMC standards	Own power platform, scalable across the range
Control	Own boards for heat pumps, terminals and recovery units: compressor, electronic valve, fans, pumps, zones, domestic hot water, cascade, Smart Grid and photovoltaic signals	One common control for the whole range, fewer variants to manage
User interface	Touch LCD displays, thermostats, protected installer menu and guided start-up procedure	Interface in the customer's brand, simpler installation
Connectivity	Modbus over RS-485, Wi-Fi, Thread/Matter (in development), energy-management gateway	Integration with the plant, photovoltaics and supervision systems
Cloud and fleet	Telemetry, dashboards, staged remote updates with rollback, firmware traceability per serial number	A fleet that stays updatable and under control after the sale
Service	Remote diagnostics and alarms, operating data for service	Fewer field interventions, faster support

Laboratory

In-house testing

Three climatic chambers, a semi-anechoic chamber and an enthalpic tunnel reproduce conditions from −30 to +50 °C. The acquisition system runs up to four independent tests in parallel, with traceable channel calibration and automatic reports. Calibrated instrumentation for temperature, humidity, pressure, flow and power, plus systems for vibration, strain gauges, acoustics, electrical safety and thermal imaging.

Units tested: air-to-air, air-to-water, water-to-water and brine, hydronic terminals from 300 W to 25 kW, heat pump water heaters, heat recovery units. The laboratory also works for third parties.

In-house testing
Facility	Function	Range	Standards
Chamber 1 (outdoor)	Conditioning of units up to 30 kW	−15…+50 °C · RH 20…95 %	EN 14511, EN 14825
Chamber 2 (outdoor)	Conditioning of units up to 30 kW	−30…+50 °C · RH 20…95 %	EN 14511, EN 14825
Chamber 3 (indoor)	Installation side, units up to 20 kW	+10…+50 °C · RH 40…90 %	EN 14511, EN 1397
Semi-anechoic chamber	Sound power and sound pressure, integrated with the climatic chambers	Free field over a reflecting plane	EN 12102-1 (EN ISO 3744)
Enthalpic tunnel	Airflow and exchanged capacity with a bank of calibrated nozzles	Chamber 3	EN 14511, EN 308
Dedicated rigs	Leakage on recovery units, condensate scale, domestic hot water	—	EN 308, EN 16147
Mechanical ventilation units (VMC)	Ventilation units with heat recovery: performance and leakage	—	EN 13141-7, EN 308
Leaks and refrigerants	Helium leak testing; refrigerant charging, recovery and vacuum stations; gas detection	—	—

Compliance

Credentials

Certified

ISO 9001:2015

Quality management system certified by TÜV Italia.

Certification

HVAC tests for certification (Kiwa)

Performance and acoustic tests (EN 14511, EN 14825, EN 16147, EN 12102-1) performed on site for certification, under the supervision of the Kiwa body.

In-house

EMC pre-compliance

In-house checks of conducted emissions and harmonics during board and unit development; official tests with third-party laboratories.

UL programme

Electrical safety (LVD)

Tests per the EN/IEC 60335 series (EN 60335-2-40) performed on site by our staff, within a UL programme for manufacturers' laboratories, witnessed by UL.

In-house

Flammable refrigerants

Testing of A2L (R32, R454C) and A3 (R290) units within the charge limits of IEC 60335-2-89, in ATEX Zone 2.

Refrigerants

Propane and flammable refrigerants: minimum charge

We are experts in minimising the amount of propane: less charge means less risk and more permitted applications. Charge, safety and performance are designed together from the refrigerant cycle onwards.

A3 · propaneR290

First double-duct propane air conditioner with a charge under 150 g (LIFE ZEROGWP, 2018–2021). 5 mm microgroove heat exchangers and dedicated compressors in the HAPPENING project.

A2L · blendR454C

Low-GWP blend for applications where propane is limited by maximum charge.

A2LR32

Residential ranges in production, moving towards low-GWP refrigerants.

Laboratory equipped with gas detection (alarm and plant shutdown), safety ventilation, electrical interlock on unit power, emergency stop.

Research

Research and innovation projects

INNOVA group projects (beneficiary: Innova S.r.l.); Innova Engineering carries out the technical work: prototypes, testing, field demonstrators and the path to series.

LIFE · 2018–2021 · coordinator

LIFE ZEROGWP

The first residential double-duct air conditioner running on propane (R290) with a charge under 150 g, with efficiency on par with the best HFC machines. INNOVA's role: coordination, machine design, experimental campaign on flammability risk, field tests in three European countries.

LIFE · since 2023 · coordinator

LIFE iTS4ZEB

R290 heat pump with modular phase-change (PCM) thermal storage for zero-emission buildings, with EURAC Research and the University of Padua. INNOVA's role: development of the product in three versions and of the stackable storage modules, laboratory tests, field units across Europe, proposal of a test method for PCM storage.

Horizon Europe · 2024–2028

META BUILD

A consortium of 38 partners in 13 countries for building decarbonisation. INNOVA's role: in charge of the pilot in Bolbeno (Trento), with heat pump, photovoltaics and PCM storage integrated in the control and advanced energy management of the hydronic system.

Horizon Europe · since 2025

SPHEERE

Direct-current residential buildings, with Politecnico di Milano and Fraunhofer ISE. INNOVA's role: DC-powered water loop heat pump terminals on propane, with decentralised heat recovery; prototype for the case study.

Horizon 2020

HAPPENING

Flexible heat pumps for existing apartment blocks: neutral-temperature loop and decentralised micro heat pumps. INNOVA's role: in charge of industrialising the technologies, 5 mm microgroove heat exchangers and compressors dedicated to propane, demonstrators in Italy and Austria.

Regional research · 2021–2024

NPDCR

New range of residential heat pumps with adaptive control and diagnostics, with FBK and the University of Padua. INNOVA's role: digital twin and model-based control, with prototypes installed in the field.

Projects co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union.

INNOVA group products

In series, with our development

STØNE heat pump in a garden — STØNEAir-to-water heat pump, modular platform

Diagram of the Waterloop system with WLHP terminals — WLHP · WaterloopWater loop heat pump

OSMO fan coil in a bedroom — OSMOFan coil

AirLeaf fan coil in a living room — AirLeafFan coil

Air conditioner without outdoor unit in a bedroom — ..2.0Air conditioner without outdoor unit

Images and trademarks of the INNOVA group.

Working together

Engagement models

Complete development

From specification to series, with a project lead and deliverables per phase: for those with the idea of a machine who want a partner to take it into production.

FFE projects

Fuzzy front end: targeted studies to investigate the possibilities. Technical and economic feasibility, concept, demonstrator, technology choice before committing to development.

Industrialisation or testing

Taking an already designed product into production (bill of materials, tooling, suppliers, end-of-line test), or performance, acoustic and safety tests on customer units.

Specific skills

Development of electronics and connectivity, or of mechanics and thermodynamics, embedded in the customer's team or on a single subsystem.

Research and consortia

Technical partner for LIFE and Horizon projects: prototypes, testing, field demonstrators and the path to series.

Contact

Let's talk about your project

Describe the machine, the volumes and the target markets: we reply with a feasibility assessment and a phase-based development plan.

Company: INNOVA ENGINEERING S.R.L.
Registered office: Via I Maggio n. 8, 38089 Storo (TN), Italia
Operational site and R&D: Via Fabbrica 52/B, Tione di Trento (TN), Italy
Tax code and VAT: 02402220228