From compressor supplier to smart energy multiplier

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development says that with rapid urbanization China will add another 30 billion square meters of living and working space over the next three years, which will put a huge strain on energy supply.

Last year China became Danfoss' third-largest market, after the US and Germany, contributing about 10 percent of its global revenue. "The BRICS' contribution has risen from 9 percent in 2003 to 2013's 22 percent and China makes half of it," Overgaard says. "I think China will overtake the US and Germany in the next 10 years."

Cold chains, especially smart refrigerating systems, are another important area of growth for Danfoss China. Its customers are mainly refrigeration companies and supermarkets, including Walmart Stores Inc, Carrefour Group, Air China catering center and the national blood center in Chongqing.

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"The systems are designed to keep the products fresh, but usually it is a waste of money and energy because the system is designed for the worst scenario, which doesn't happen frequently in daily operation."

For example, some marine products should be kept at very low temperatures. To keep all products fresh, managers usually set all fridges to the lowest temperature.

"The electricity bill in a supermarket is usually very high," Overgaard says. "A large-scale supermarket can easily get a bill of 2 million yuan at the end of the year, which almost equals the annual profit."

By using a smart refrigerating system to adjust temperature automatically, electricity bills can be cut 10 percent, he says.

Danfoss is also closely working with local governments to optimize energy allocation. During then president Hu Jintao's state visit to Denmark in 2012, the two parties signed a series of agreements to cooperate on energy projects, of which the biggest is a contract between Danfoss and the government of Anshan, Liaoning province.

Under the agreement, Danfoss is to make a 400 million yuan local heating network in Anshan. It replaced old boilers with larger ones and connected them to a local steel plant that has been constantly generating heat. The heat can meet the needs of 1 million people.

Previously the heat had simply been dumped but is now used as an inexpensive, efficient means of warming households, the company says. Because the heat was traditionally generated by burning coal, this initiative can also cut carbon dioxide emissions by 240,000 tons a year.

Xinhua News Agency quoted Karsten Dybvad, CEO of the Confederation of Danish Industry, as saying: "I believe more sustainable growth in China can turn out to be an advantage to Danish companies because of the technologies and solutions we have developed in our effort to create a green economy."