Educational institutions

As part of an effort to educate companies and organizations in the Philippines about sustainable cold chain technologies, Carrier Transicold, part of U.S.-based Carrier, has donated a 20ft (6m)-long CO₂ (R744) NaturaLINE refrigerated marine reefer unit to the Cold Chain Innovation Hub (CCI-Hub) in Manila.

Scientists have developed a new method for assessing the impact of ozone-depleting chemicals released into the atmosphere. 

Emerson announced its E360 Webinar series, “The Journey to Lower-GWP Refrigerants” will include five webinars designed to prepare food retailers and other industry stakeholders for the U.S. phasedown of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants. The series, which kicked off with the webinars “Regulatory Update: The Latest in Refrigerant Rulemaking and Safety Standards” and “The Role of Emerging Refrigerants Alternatives: CO₂, A2Ls and R-290,” is designed to provide food retailers with strategies to achieve compliance of federal refrigerant mandates by exploring refrigerant and equipment options that align with their operational and sustainability goals.

Campaigners have called on European authorities to act on undercover investigation into illegal European sales of HFC published last year – citing a lack of action by national bodies.

The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) has created a resource to help retailers navigate regulation changes implemented by the AIM Act to phase down HFCs.

Leading manufacturers of CO₂ (R744) refrigeration systems see robust growth in the adoption of transcritical CO₂ refrigeration systems for commercial and industrial applications in North America.

The global HVAC-R market was valued at $193.6 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $257.9 billion in 2027, following a CAGR of 5% during the forecast period 2022-2027. The growth in the global HVAC-R market is expected to be driven by increasing population and rapid urbanization, drastic change in weather conditions, and emerging innovation in HVAC-R.

After two years of virtual meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer were reunited at the forty-fourth Open-ended Working Group meeting in Bangkok, Thailand from 11-16 July 2022. The parties were happy to interact face-to-face again. While the agenda and workload were heavy, the positive energy with which the parties embarked the meeting was palpable.

When international refrigeration, AC, ventilation and heat pump experts flock to Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 11 to 13 October 2022, it will be the first reunion of this kind since 2018. Chillventa, the world’s leading trade fair for refrigeration technology, brings together the specialists and leading lights of the sector from all around the globe. In the eight exhibition halls, Chillventa CONGRESS on 10 October, and numerous events from the supporting programme, you will finally get the chance to make business contacts face-to-face again, discover trends and interesting solutions, and refresh your knowledge. The number of registrations received so far is excellent. The professional community can look forward to an exciting event with a first-class supporting and congress programme.

Research by BSRIA Worldwide Market Intelligence highlights the effect of inflation and the supply chain crisis on the air conditioning market. A generalised supply chain crisis is causing product shortages and longer lead times in commercial AC. This, combined with the demand surge, is generating an inflationary pressure and prices are rising in all the product categories. However, on the demand side, growth is expected to be steady throughout 2022. Exceptionally hot weather in the West of the US boosted sales in 2021.

The European FluoroCarbons Technical Committee (EFCTC), which represents refrigerant suppliers, has called for the EU to include a Europe-wide penalty regime in its proposals for policing F-Gas imports.

The dynamic in the UK has changed significantly since the pandemic, where it was still considered a commercially driven market, now the majority of multi-splits are sold into domestic. Single-splits remain mostly commercially driven, but here too the share of domestic has increased significantly.

The EU-funded project Refrigerants, Naturally! RefNat4LIFE has recently launched two free online courses – also known as massive online open courses (MOOC) – on natural refrigerants to support store owners’ and technicians’ transition away from f-gases.

In the Soft Launch on July 21 2022, the Climate and Ozone Protection Alliance will be introduced, followed by a panel discussion with various speakers sharing their views on the relevance of a global shift to sustainable refrigerant management. Speakers include representatives from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the COPA Secretariat, UNIDO, UNDP, government, private sector, academia and civil society.

Refrigerants market is expected to reach at USD 8.4 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period. The most used natural refrigerants are ammonia, carbon dioxide, and HCs such as propane and isobutene. Technological advancements in cooling equipment are replacing traditional refrigerants such as HCFC and HFC with natural ones. This has increased the market share of natural refrigerants in applications such as air conditioning, refrigeration, and heating systems.

The U.K. Climate Change Committee (CCC) has called for the U.K. government to “match or exceed” the level of increased ambition that will be adopted following the revision of the EU F-gas Regulation.

EFCTC says it now expects other EU countries to start using EU Single Window Environment for Customs to share vital information on refrigerant imports and F-Gas quotas.

The latest IIR Informatory Note outlines the options available for low-GWP refrigerants and their respective performance. It provides a series of recommendations on refrigerant selection criteria, research priorities and personnel training.

UN Environment Programme (UNEP) OzonAction organized a side event on “Women in Cooling – Challenges and Opportunities” on 11 July during the forty-fourth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol. This forum, the first of its kind, initiated a discussion about the context of women in cooling worldwide including the challenges they face in their careers, previewed an important global survey on this subject, and presented a new global initiative to support opportunities for women, more engagement and visibility within the cooling sector. The side event is part of a broader discussion that UNEP OzonAction is having both internally and with its partners on how to further incorporate gender mainstreaming into the work of the Montreal Protocol. The meeting was well attended by 93 participants (female 55, male 38).

The cold chain must be sustainable everywhere to be able to meet the Millennium’s targets indeed.