shecco has recently organized ATMOsphere Network Paris. This side event to the 34^th Open Ended Working Group meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol was chaired by Sidi Menad Si Ahmed, Former UNIDO Director of the Montreal Protocol Branch, who shecco was proud to announce has joined shecco as the company’s International Chief Advisor.

ATMOsphere Network Paris – natural refrigerant solutions for all countries

ATMOsphere Network Paris brought together around 50 international climate negotiators and industry representatives on 17 July 2014. The event aimed to inform international climate negotiators about the availability, efficiency and safety of natural refrigerant solutions in developed and developing countries through a panel discussion covering industry and policy perspectives, as well as real-life examples of technologies using natural refrigerants and an update on the conversion of residential air conditioners to hydrocarbons in China.

Update on room AC conversion to R290 in China

One of the highlights of the event was an exclusive update on the conversion of a production line for residential AC to hydrocarbons in China by a representative of the Chinese Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO). Hydrocarbons are envisaged as a key solution to the phase out of HCFCs in the Chinese industry according to Zhong Zhifeng of the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) at the Ministry of Environmental Protection,

For use in air conditioning, propane was selected because it has zero ozone depleting potential (ODP) and very low global warming potential (GWP), but also because a comprehensive risk assessment found that explosion possibilities for R290 room AC are extremely low and it’s safe use can be guaranteed by taking certain safety measures. Significant progress has been made on the conversion of product lines from R22 to R290 in China. Nearly all manufacturers have submitted applications for certification of R290 AC and already at least six types of propane room ACs have been approved and certified and can be sold on the Chinese market. As the energy efficiency and production standards in China are quite strict, Zhifeng believes that the Chinese manufacturing designs and product lines are likely suitable for other world regions as well.

Already, the FECO, in partnership with an association of manufacturers, has established a market promotion subsidy scheme to encourage manufacturers to promote R290 as much as possible once production is ready. Zhifeng noted that in general, China tries its best to promote natural refrigerants and that organisations such as shecco play an important role in promoting efforts to protect the environment.

Natural refrigerant market trends presented by Mayekawa, Advansor, AHT & shecco

ATMOsphere Network Paris also featured presentations on market trends for natural refrigerants in industrial refrigeration from Mayekawa, in commercial refrigeration from Advansor and in light commercial refrigeration from AHT. shecco outlined some of the recent regulatory updates in Europe, Japan and North America, also pointing out how ambitious policy actions in these regions drive innovation and lead to increased availability of natural refrigerant solutions. Especially for participants from developing countries, these presentations were of particular interest.

Coming soon: shecco base

Leading knowledge provider to the market, shecco will be offering in the coming weeks a new business development service to answer HVAC&R industry’s increasing need for data. The company will launch a data base (shecco base) and expect this data base to become the google search engine for natural refrigerants