Certification takes centre stage at Chillventa 2026

The world’s leading exhibition for refrigeration, air conditioning, ventilation and heat pump technology returned to Nuremberg, Germany, from 13th to 15th October 2026. Chillventa 2026 brought together international experts from across the HVACR sector to discover the latest innovations, exchange technical knowledge and explore the issues shaping the industry’s future. The whole Eurovent family, including Eurovent Certification, Eurovent Association, Eurovent Market Intelligence and ProdBIM joined 1170 exhibitors at the global gathering. Eurovent Certification also took part in the technical programme with a specialist forum on the heat exchanger performance gap and a panel discussion on the development of a global certification scheme for dry and adiabatic coolers in partnership with the Cooling Technology Institute (CTI).

About the show

Chillventa has a well-deserved reputation as a major international meeting place for refrigeration, air conditioning, ventilation and heat pump professionals. Held every two years, the exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of refrigeration and insulation technologies, controls and automation, air conditioning, ventilation and heat pumps. The event brought together some 36,000 trade visitors from 50 countries, including manufacturers, contractors, industry associations, technical experts and other key sector stakeholders. The show created the ideal environment to discover new products, share expertise and build relationships.

Alongside the exhibition, visitors could access a comprehensive supporting programme featuring specialist forums and contributions from experts in research, development and practice. Together, the exhibition, technical programme and Chillventa CONGRESS (which took place the day before the exhibition opened), offered a valuable overview of current developments and the future direction of the refrigeration, air conditioning, ventilation and heat pump industries.

Event highlights

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Chillventa is renowned for the quality of its technical programme. This year, Eurovent Certification hosted two specialist forums, focusing on refrigeration.

Stepping up on 13^th October in the 12.20pm slot, Japhet Habimana, Programme Manager at Eurovent Certification, and Dario Demurtas, Product Manager at LUVE, discussed “What does a 30% Heat Exchanger performance gap mean for a refrigeration system?” Aimed at designers, consultants, and end-users, the presentation focused on research conducted in the white paper, Beyond the brochure: Exposing the reality of refrigeration product underperformance. The discussion explored findings on the performance gap before delving into the impact on real life refrigeration systems - highlighting how one underperforming component can impact the entire system.

At 11.40am on 15^th October a discussion panel made up of Thomas Michineau, Head of Refrigeration Department, Eurovent Certification; Taha Ouilali, Programme Manager, Eurovent Certification; Rob Vandenboer, International Technical Director, EVAPCO Europe GmbH and Stefano Filippini, Technical Director, LUVE, took to the stage to discuss a vital question: how can certification better reflect performance in real operating conditions?

“From Standard rating to real world Performance: Development of ECC/CTI global certification scheme for Dry and adiabatic cooler,” saw the panellists argue why relying solely on standardised ratings is no longer sufficient to support informed decision-making. Shifting the discussion from identified challenges to potential solutions, the panel addressed the certification scope of the forthcoming dry and adiabatic cooler schemes. The proposed certification process will encompass field testing, factory audits, and ongoing market surveillance.

Furthermore, the scheme is intended to operate as a unified global certification programme jointly developed by CTI and Eurovent Certification, thereby minimising market confusion associated with the presence of two independent certification bodies.

During the two specialist sessions, the panellists announced a series of kick-off meetings scheduled for 10 November 2026. The event will consist of two consecutive half-day sessions: one dedicated to the Commercial Refrigeration Heat Exchangers programme in morning and the other focused on the Dry and Adiabatic Coolers programmes in the afternoon.

The objective of these kick-offs will be to present the proposed programme restructuring to industry stakeholders, gather their feedback, and further refine the future certification scope and approach before implementation.

Final thoughts

Chillventa 2026 brought together innovators, decision makers, and industry leaders for three days of insight, discussion, and collaboration across the refrigeration, air conditioning, ventilation and heat pump sector.

For Eurovent Certification, it was an opportunity to connect with specifiers, manufacturers and end users, and to highlight the paramount importance of trusted, certified performance data, both on the stand and through two breakout technical sessions.

A big thank you to all speakers and attendees who made the event such a success, and to the organisers for another outstanding edition.

Find out more at www.chillventa.de/en.