Explainer: how chemistry powers heat pumps

Heat pumps are seen as one important way to reduce carbon emissions from heating and many countries, including the UK, have implemented schemes to encourage their installation. The technology has deep roots with a long and environmentally controversial history, however, and at the same time as politicians are trying to speed up its adoption, scientists are working to minimise these pumps’ carbon footprint. Top scientific journals are regularly filled with proposals for future versions of the technology. So is heat pump technology a sinner or a saint in the battle against climate change? And can science improve this technology?