en.Wedoany.com Reported - Auckland Airport has installed a large-scale electric heat pump system in its international terminal, replacing one of New Zealand's largest gas-powered air conditioning plants, marking a key step in the electrification of the airport's core infrastructure.

The project, costing $15 million, involved installing 11 industrial-grade heat pumps, each capable of providing approximately 600 kilowatts of heating or cooling capacity. These units, comparable in size to shipping containers, collectively provide climate control for the 141,000-square-meter international terminal.

The new system replaces equipment that had been in operation for over 50 years. According to Auckland Airport estimates, the new installation will reduce natural gas usage for heating and cooling by about 40%.

Mary-Liz Tuck, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer at Auckland Airport, stated that the project required decommissioning a 1970s-era power center and hoisting each 12-ton heat pump unit 30 meters to the terminal roof. Tuck noted that the project represents a significant step in modernizing the airport's core infrastructure and making tangible reductions in controllable emissions.

"Electric heat pumps allow us to move away from natural gas and make substantial progress toward our goal of reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 90% by 2030, compared to the 2019 baseline," Tuck said.

The upgrade, carried out in a fully operational terminal handling approximately 30,000 passengers daily, required careful phasing. The project involved replacing 50-year-old equipment with new, high-efficiency Trane units while maintaining terminal heating and cooling. Installation was coordinated with the airport's broader integration works, including a multi-story building connecting the international terminal to the future domestic jet terminal, atop which the heat pump units are located.

Martin Butcher, the project's lead engineer, said the technology was trialed within the terminal before full installation. That test allowed the team to understand how the technology performs in the airport's working environment. The main system replacement was transitioned in carefully planned phases, confirming system performance while maintaining normal terminal operations.

Each heat pump can provide either heating or cooling as needed, allowing the system to operate in a mixed mode, cooling some areas while heating others. Waste heat can also be recovered and reused to improve overall efficiency. Butcher noted that the building itself acts as a thermal buffer, with temperature changes occurring slowly, giving the system time to respond without causing noticeable temperature fluctuations for people inside the terminal.

The system began operation in September 2025, with commissioning and fine-tuning continuing over the coming months to balance comfort levels under varying passenger volumes and confirm year-round performance.

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