Page 20 - Climate Control News Magazine Feb 2019

Natural Refrigerants
New Zealand introduces HFC gas permit
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Au- thority (EPA) is implementing a new permit system in response to the Kigali Amendment, an international agreement the New Zealand Government has signed, to reduce the levels of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Dr Fiona Thomson-Carter, general manager of the EPA’s Hazardous Substances group said the permit scheme will be introduced from Feb- ruary 2019.
It will require all bulk imports and exports of new and recycled HFC gases into/out of New Zea- land to have a permit.
The new permit system intends to help New Zealand reach the first modelled phase-down target of 1338.3 carbon dioxide-equivalent tonnes of HFC gas, by December 31, 2020.
Dr Thomson-Carter said HFC gases have been identified as having a high global warming po- tential (GWP) that can be as much as 50 to 14,800 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
EPA general manager,
Dr Fiona Thomson-Carter
“We expect the permit scheme to be an adjust- ment for industries that use large quantities of HFC gases, like refrigeration and air-condition- ing, as they will need to reduce their use of HFC gases and switch to other more environmentally friendly-refrigerants over time,” Dr Thomson- Carter said.
“Under the permit system New Zealand's total net import quantity of new bulk HFC gases will be split into a range of permits that will include 80 per cent being made available to holders with grandparented eligibility.
“This grandparented eligibility is open to pre- vious importers of HFC gases from January 2015 to December 2017.”
Importers will have until March 18, 2019 to complete the one-off eligibility process, and will still need to obtain an annual import permit, ac- cording to Dr Thomson-Carter.
“A number of special permits, with a number of requirements, will also be available for those that may be unable to get grandparented eligibility.”
New Zealand will officially ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal protocol with the United Nations in October 2019.
The EPA’s role under the Ozone Layer Protec- tion Regulations will see the Authority manage the scheme which will decrease the amount of HFC gases permitted over time.
Daikin acquires AHT Cooling Systems
DAIKIN HAS ANNOUNCED the acquisition of Austrian commercial refrigeration firm AHT Cooling Sys- tems for $US994.21million.
The acquisition will be completed in early 2019 and will expand Daikin's refrigeration business.
AHT Cooling Systems provides highly-efficient refrigeration and freezing systems for supermarkets and convenience stores and is com- mitted to natural refrigerants.
The acquisition will solidify Daikin’s presence in Europe and provide a launching pad to expand its refrigera-
tion sales in the United States and Asia. In 2016, Daikin acquired Italian commercial refrigeration manufac- turer, Zanotti, extending its busi- ness to industrial refrigeration equipment for food processing and
warehouse storage.
These acquisitions will enable Dai-
kin to become a one-stop provider of both air conditioning and refrigeration products covering the entire cold chain from food product management to the climate comfort of stores to eventually become a leading provider of equipment to major food retailers.
AHT Cooling provides refrigeration systems for supermarkets.
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