The significance of a recent two-day conference was not only the extensive presentations regarding natural refrigerants such as CO₂, HCs, and ammonia, but where the meeting was held — Washington, D.C.

The event — officially called ATMOsphere America 2012 — was put on by the Belgium-based organization ATMOsphere, which has been hosting similar events in Europe for a number of years. The organization said it puts on workshops that “bring together decision-makers from industry and government to change the future of natural refrigerants.” For the D.C. event, some 200 individuals were involved in discussions designed to “build a business case for natural refrigerants in North America.”

The meeting came fresh on the announcement of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Significant New Alternative Program approval for three HC refrigerants in some applications, and plans to bring online both ammonia and transcritical CO₂ supermarkets in the United States.

“The unanimous tenor (of the conference) was that natural refrigerants are entering the market and have already taken up some market share, that costs have come down, and that natural refrigerant solutions are conomically and environmentally the best choice in specific applications,” the organization said in a statement.

Articles continues: http://www.achrnews.com/articles/121203-focusing-on-natural-refrigerants