HVAC and recycling systems customers

The European Union has received the 2017 Ozone Award for political leadership, for its role in the adoption of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

As global efforts to phase down production and use of f-gases pick up pace, illegal trade in HCFCs is increasing and there are already signs of an illegal trade in HFCs, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) warned at an ATMOsphere Network event at the 29th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP 29) in Montreal, Canada on Tuesday.

To clarify implementation of legislation governing reuse, recycling, and regeneration of waste f-gases, the French Ministry for the Ecological Transition yesterday (22 November) published a guidance document governing the reuse, recycling and disposal of HFCs.

A municipal kitchen in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, has been upgraded with a refrigeration system using a combination of the HFO R1234ze and R455A, a lower GWP alternative to R404A.

Danish company Advansor’s first CO₂ transcritical system in Australia yesterday began operating at a United Food Express warehouse in the Melbourne suburb of Keysborough.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has cleared the way for hydrocarbon refrigerants to be used in new household refrigerators and freezers.

Leading German air conditioning and refrigeration associations are demanding meetings with the government over refrigerant shortages.

Shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has invested in 1,000 Star Cool Integrated containers using refrigerant R513A, the lower GWP alternative to R134a.

Danfoss has expanded its Turbocor TT Series compressors to use the lower GWP refrigerant R513A and added new low lift capabilities.

The world returns to Montreal this week to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, the treaty that saved the ozone layer.

A flurry of countries ratifying the Kigali amendment this week has ensured that the global HFC phase down will come into force on 1 January 2019.

The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which will bring about a global phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), will take effect in January 2019 as a number of EU Member States have now deposited their ratification instruments.

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a Washington, D.C.-based NGO, is urging that the Montreal Protocol meetings taking place next week address the need for updated hydrocarbon safety standards that would enable faster adoption of hydrocarbon HVAC&R systems in place of HFC systems.

Contractors’ group AREA has produced a document explaining the legal responsibilities of those buying or selling pre-charged equipment under the European F-gas regulations.

Panasonic looks set to move into the refrigeration market in Europe after launching a range of CO₂ condensing units at last week’s Interclima exhibition in Paris.

Refcom, the largest UK register for safe refrigerant handling, has called for F-gas emissions rules to be tightened in the wake of Brexit.

Emerson announced it has launched propane-ready models for its Copeland M-Line condensing unit platform. The new models, which feature the latest Copeland reciprocating hermetic compressors, are designed to deliver up to 30% in energy savings.

The UK has become the first EU member state to fully ratify the Kigali Amendment to reduce HFCs under the Montreal Protocol.

The European Union and 79 countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group together making up more than half of the signatories to the Paris Agreement on climate change, today reaffirmed their shared commitment to the implementation of the Paris Agreement and urged all Parties to ensure concrete progress at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) taking place in Bonn, Germany.

European standardisation bodies CEN-CENELEC today began to act on the European Commission’s request to alleviate barriers posed by European standards that impede wider use of flammable refrigerants