Driven by some of the strictest climate mandates in North America, New York City has become a rapidly accelerating market for advanced heating systems.
At the forefront of this shift are our NYC-based Hudson Clean Heat (HCH) and Oilon, Together they have developed a solution utilizing Oilon’s high-temperature, water-source heat pumps to decarbonize the metropolis’s historic building stock.
New York City’s landmark climate legislation, Local Law 97, places stringent carbon emission caps on the city’s larger buildings, which comprise the vast majority of NYC’s total square footage, with severe financial penalties taking effect for non-compliance.
Combined with Local Law 154’s ban on fossil fuels in new construction, the city faces a massive infrastructure hurdle: transitioning thousands of traditional, century-old steam systems to clean energy.
“New York is experiencing one of the fastest-growing retrofit markets in North America right now,” said Ian Rowburrey, Chief Commercial Officer of 2Hudson, Hudson Clean Heat’s holding company.
“The city has thousands of large-scale properties that must meet strict emission limits by 2030. When evaluating how to serve this market, we selected Oilon because their technology uniquely solves NYC’s toughest challenges. Their capability to deliver exceptionally high leaving water temperatures, combined with a very compact footprint, allowed us to design a viable retrofit solution, which is tailored specifically for the NYC market.”
Market momentum drives the launch of Hudson Clean Heat
The commercial viability of this technology was validated in September 2025, when a 2Hudson company, Miller Proctor Nickolas won The Empire Technology Prize, a competition recognizing breakthrough innovations designed to accelerate the low-carbon retrofit of high-rise buildings in NYC. The prize was created by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority NYSERDA, The Clean Fight and NY Governor Kathy Hochul.
MPN secured the prize utilizing a mobile demonstration trailer that showcases concretely how compact the solution with Oilon’s heat pumps is, and how it works in reality. They received 1-million dollars in milestone awards, a final grand prize of one million dollars, and $964,667 to be used towards demonstration projects.
Following the prize, MPN’s project pipeline surged. This surge led 2Hudson to launch a new company called Hudson Clean Heat on July 1st, 2026, specifically tailored to providing electrification solutions including Oilon ChillHeat heat pumps for the NYC Metro area.
“The prize money was directly injected into building and launching Hudson Clean Heat, which is dedicated to decarbonising NYC. We are proud that this money is going right back to fulfilling the city’s goals while we are creating jobs in the realm of clean energy in New York”, says Ian Motley, President of Hudson Clean Heat and the mastermind behind the award-winning solution.
This rapid scaling underscores a wave of momentum as engineering firms and building owners seek proven, scalable paths to electrification.
“Hudson Clean Heat is a natural extension of our long-term vision,” said Jaime Tetrault, President and CEO of 2Hudson, the holding company of MPN and HCH.
“We are witnessing a fundamental and sustainability-focused shift in how buildings are designed, operated, and heated. Our role is to provide the leadership, innovation, and practical solutions that allow our customers to successfully adapt to that change.”
A compact solution saving historic infrastructure
Unlike standard air-source heat pumps, which require extensive outdoor space unavailable in dense areas like Manhattan and can lose efficiency during harsh winter drops, water-source systems utilize stable indoor heat sources such as wastewater, cooling towers, or process heat recovery.
Crucially, certain Oilon ChillHeat models can generate pressurized hot water up to approximately 250°F (120°C). MPN’s specialized solution then converts this high-temperature water into low-pressure steam, allowing buildings to keep their existing steam piping and historic radiators intact.
“In retrofitting dense urban spaces, size and physical access are everything,” Ian Motley emphasizes.
“Oilon’s compact design allows these powerful units to fit through a standard single door and into tight basement mechanical rooms. Ultimately, this partnership allows us to do something remarkable: we are preserving the architectural heritage and historic character of New York’s iconic buildings while drastically reducing their carbon footprints for a sustainable future.”
Hudson Clean Heat has currently over 100 projects in the pipeline. This represents more than 2 million sq ft of NYC real estate and a potential reduction of thousands of tons of CO2 annually from New York City emissions.
