QINGDAO, Shandong, China — Honeywell and Haier Group have announced the establishment of the Honeywell-Haier Joint Innovation Center, located in the R&D center of Haier in Qingdao. The companies said that, in a move to accelerate the green march of the air conditioning industry, the center will strengthen their technological collaboration in the areas of household appliances and intelligent control to achieve high energy efficiency and low emissions.

In January of this year, Honeywell and Haier signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) creating a global strategic partnership during the U.S.-China Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum. Under the terms of the MOU, Honeywell and Haier are to cooperate in the areas of household appliances, intelligent home systems, and other technology areas. The joint innovation center is one of the R&D collaboration projects under the framework of the MOU.

Fan Zengnian, director of global technology of the Haier Air Conditioner business, said, “The joint innovation center will play a key role in the technology upgrade of the refrigeration industry. Using this collaborative platform, Honeywell and Haier will drive for more innovations and applications to achieve higher energy efficiency. It is also a great model for U.S. and Chinese enterprises to achieve win-win results that benefit consumers around the world.”

“This is the first time for Honeywell to establish a cross-business joint lab on a customer’s premise in China,” said Rameshbabu Songukrishnasamy, general manager of Honeywell Technology Solutions China. “This joint innovation center creates an opportunity for leveraging each of our unique technologies to create new solutions that will mutually benefit Honeywell and Haier. Together, Honeywell and Haier employ several thousand engineers and technologists in China, and they will be strong support for the two companies’ collaboration on leading technologies and innovations for our respective industries. ”

Publication date: 11/21/2011