MCE 2026 showcases innovation in the HVAC‑R world

The 44th edition of MCE – Mostra Convegno Expocomfort, held in Milan from 24 to 27 March 2026, has recently ended, once again confirming the exhibition’s leading role at an international level in the fields of civil and industrial building services, HVAC, renewable energy and the water sector.

Andrea Fornasiero, Building Physics and Sustainability Manager at Manens, was involved in two key moments of this year’s event.
The first was the talk organised by GBC Italia, titled “Integrated building services solutions for health and comfort in green buildings”, which focused on the strategic role of building systems in enhancing environmental performance and indoor quality. The second was his participation in the MCE EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2026 as a member of the Technical Jury, contributing to selecting the most innovative technological solutions in the HVAC-R sector.

The Jury was chaired by Giuliano Dall’O’, Professor of Environmental Technical Physics at the ABC Department (Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering) of Politecnico di Milano, and included representatives from industry associations as well as five design and engineering firms, among them Manens.

“Growing attention to comfort and indoor environmental quality,” said Fornasiero, “together with the need to make energy systems increasingly efficient, is leading to a steady increase in the technological content of buildings. As a result, there is an ever greater need to identify new spaces and new strategies to drive innovation in building services solutions.”

These principles guided the selection of products presented in the 2026 edition of the Awards, highlighting their contribution to the energy and environmental transition, in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the European Green Deal.
In particular, the evaluation criteria rewarded solutions capable of integrating building services technologies with advanced digital tools—such as building automation systems, BIM models and predictive monitoring algorithms—designed to improve operational efficiency and maintenance management through the use of objective, measurable data.

The Awards for this 2026 edition, went to the following products:

Volano CUBE (Cordivari): a compact, wall mounted inertial storage system, recognised for its flexibility in hybrid system integration, optimised thermal stratification and reliable performance even in outdoor installation conditions.

Compact Cube 48 (Cowa Thermal Solutions): a thermal storage system for heat pumps based on phase change materials (PCM), selected for its exceptionally high energy density—ideal for space constrained urban environments—and for its tangible contribution to decarbonisation across the building life cycle.

PDX (Innova): a built-in heat pump water heater featuring PCM based thermal storage, recognised for combining compactness, advanced storage technology and digital intelligence, positioning it as an evolved solution for active thermal storage that can be integrated with smart grids and photovoltaic systems in residential applications.

Discover all the selected products in the dedicated eBook:

Pictures: courtesy of RX Italy