Carnot Technology: Centrifugal Chiller R&D, Oil-Free Magnetic Bearing Compressors and Defence Industry Cooling Solutions

A chiller manufacturer's technology unit answers two questions: how can the units running in the field today become more efficient, more reliable and easier to service; and which products will be needed tomorrow. Carnot Technology handles both questions within the same team, because fault, energy and usage data from the field is both the development input for existing products and the design input for new ones.

The unit covers mechanical design, refrigeration circuit design, electrical and automation engineering, and control software. Because it sits on the same site as the production facility, the move from prototype to series production does not wait on a separate supplier or plant. About Us Group Structure

Product development work draws on a database built from more than 12,000 machines in the field. The fault codes, operating parameters and component lifetimes that the service team records at every call-out are analysed regularly, and recurring findings are turned into design changes. This loop runs across the following areas:

Control software and automation. Compressor staging, fan speed control, electronic expansion valve (EEV) strategy, freeze protection and fault diagnosis logic are updated based on field data. The data points passed to the building management system (BMS) over Modbus RTU/TCP and BACnet are extended in line with customer requests. Chiller Retrofit and System Modernisation

Energy efficiency. Improvements such as part-load performance, inverter-driven EC fans, the move to microchannel condensers and free cooling integration are first trialled on an existing series and then made standard. The ZERO series' move to R1234ze and the Fusion series' free cooling control algorithm are outputs of this process. ZERO Fusion

Serviceability. Component access, maintenance intervals, spare part standardisation and model-specific maintenance kits are built into the design based on feedback from field technicians. The aim is to shorten planned maintenance time and unplanned downtime. Chiller Planned Maintenance Agreements

Refrigerant transition. Under the F-Gas Regulation (EU 2024/573), the move from high-GWP refrigerants to low-GWP alternatives such as R1234ze, R513A and R290 is carried out on existing series together with circuit design, oil compatibility and safety class (A2L/A3) requirements. Chemic

Carnot Technology's current R&D focus is a water-cooled centrifugal chiller using an oil-free magnetic bearing turbo compressor. Above the capacity band where scroll and screw compressors are efficient — large data centres, campus-type sites, power plants and large process lines — centrifugal technology offers lower part-load consumption, fewer moving parts and a lower refrigerant charge. Because this segment is largely served by imported products in Turkey, the project aims to close that gap with domestic design and manufacturing.

Technical framework of the project:

For requirements that fall outside the standard product catalogue, Carnot Technology develops project-based cooling systems for Turkish defence industry organisations. In these projects the customer does not buy a series product but a cooling solution designed, tested and documented against a specific requirements document. Customer and project information is confidential; only application classes and design criteria are given below.

Application classes

• Electronics cooling for radar, electronic warfare and communication systems — stable inlet temperature, low temperature fluctuation, redundant circuit
• High-precision process cooling for directed-energy and laser systems — circuit and control structure derived from the Thule laser configuration Thule
• Environmental conditioning for test and qualification facilities — wide temperature range, glycol circuit, low-temperature configuration down to −45 °C
• Compact or containerised cooling units for land, naval and fixed platforms — transportability, vibration resistance, limited space
• Process cooling in defence industry production plants — composites, machining, surface treatment and casting lines Automotive and Metalworking

Design criteria

• Design to the requirements document (technical specification); every criterion verified by a test report
• Component selection and cabinet construction for harsh conditions such as high ambient temperature, dust, salt atmosphere and vibration
• Design and test planning according to the environmental test requirements defined in the specification
• Domestic design and manufacturing; spare part and service continuity for critical components
• Control architecture meeting redundancy (N+1), remote monitoring and secure communication requirements
• Site installation, commissioning and maintenance after delivery, carried out on site by the Carnot service team Design and Commissioning

Project process

1. Requirements analysis and technical specification review
2. Conceptual design and capacity/heat balance calculation
3. Detailed design: refrigeration circuit, hydraulics, electrical and automation, cabinet
4. Prototype manufacturing and factory acceptance tests (FAT)
5. Site installation, commissioning and site acceptance tests (SAT)
6. Documentation: test reports, IOM manual, spare parts list, maintenance plan

Every product and project-based system developed goes through capacity, electrical, leak-tightness, vacuum and function tests in the test area at the Çayırova facility. Capacity tests are performed at EN 14511 rating conditions; for project-based systems, additional test conditions from the customer's specification (ambient temperature, part load, emergency stop scenarios) are added to the test plan. Test data is fed back into the product development loop.