Page 10 - Climate Control News magazine April 2023

World News
EPA acts to reduce HFC imports
THE UNITED STATES (US) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) HAS UNDERTAKEN SEVERAL ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS TO REDUCE THE USE OF HYDROFLUOROCARBONS (HFCS).
THESE CIVIL PENALTY actions include three landmark settlements with HFC importers who failed to report their imported quantities in violation of the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programme.
Artsen Chemical America, LLC faced a pen- alty of $247,601 and Harp USA, Inc. was fined $275,000 while for IGas Companies it was $382,473.
The EPA is aggressively pursuing similar actions against several other importers that failed to report their HFCs.
EPA also recently issued the first notices of violation (NOVs) under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act) to alleged violators who imported regulated substances without required allowances.
Under the AIM Act, importers are required to expend allowances to import HFCs. Compliance with the allowance system is critical to assuring the success of the United States’ HFC phase- down program.
Illegal imports undermine the phase-down, disadvantage companies who follow the rules, and contribute to global warming, according to Larry Starfield, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
"These NOVs demonstrate EPA's commitment to enforcing the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020. In addition, our Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program settle- ments with HFC importers recognise that accu- rate data is essential for setting sound climate change policy,” he concluded.
Cylinders of R22 ready for destruction.
Record spend in research and development
DANFOSS HAS FINALISED its acquisition of BOCK GmbH, a world leader in CO2 and low- GWP compressors utilised in cooling and heat- ing applications, a deal which was first announced late last year.
The completion of the acquisition last month saw BOCK’s team of 400 dedicated experts and specialists officially become part of the Danfoss family.
Danfoss also released its financial results for 2022, which were higher than expectations.
Sales were up 36 per cent while organic growth increased 15 per cent.
Operating profits were up 26 per cent to $US1.27 billion.
Growth in North America has topped 70 per cent in the past year.
Danfoss said the strong 2022 results demon- strate the huge growth potential in products and solutions that contribute to
meeting global and regional climate
goals.
Danfoss CEO, Kim Fausing, said
sales are almost distributed evenly across the Americas, Europe and Asia with significant opportunities in all regions.
There has also been record levels of investments in production capacity.
“By increasing innovation spend by 39 per cent, we are again demonstrating our commit- ment to offering best-in-class technology and solutions,” he said.
“Our results are truly driven by our high-performing diverse teams across the world. Results are created by people. We are now close to 42,000 people in Danfoss, and I would like to thank all my colleagues who made our results possible.”
LEFT: Danfoss CEO, Kim Fausing.
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