Page 16 - Climate Control News September 2022

Refrigerants
Resource for retailers moving away from HFCs
THE NORTH AMERICAN Sustainable Refrig- eration Council (NASRC) has created a free refrig- erant transition hub to help retailers navigate regulation changes implemented by the Ameri- can Innovation and Manufacuring (AIM) Act.
Enacted in 2020, the AIM Act authorises the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to phase down hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant greenhouse gas emissions by 85 per cent by 2036.
“HFC regulations from the AIM Act and sev- eral states are pressuring retailers to transition to climate-friendly refrigerants,” according to Dan- ielle Wright, executive director of NASRC.
“Retailers need neutral information to help
them make the right decisions. NASRC works in partnership with the supermarket industry, so we are uniquely positioned to identify the gaps in available resources.”
The federal phasedown of HFCs is expected to result in refrigerant shortages and significant price increases.
In Europe, refrigerant prices increased by 900 per cent following a similar HFC phasedown. Also, new legislation introduced in states such as California proposed to ban the sale and distribution of virgin HFC refrigerants as early as 2025, further driving the need for natural refrigerant solutions.
The hub features a HFC policy tracker which is an interactive map to aid retailers navigating the complex systems of regulations by tracking the latest policies at the federal and state levels.
There is also a Natural Refrigerants in Super- marakets Factsheet which provides an overview of eco-friendly solutions.
This is in addition to a comprehensive collec- tion of presentations on the latest natural refrig- erant technologies.
LEFT: Several states are pressuring retailers to transition to climate friendly refrigerants.
US PHASE DOWN
Phasing down HFCs in favour of environmentally safer alternatives and more energy-efficient cooling technologies is expected to save billions of dollars.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US estimates that the present value of the cumulative benefits of this action is $283.9 billion from 2022 through 2050, and that the phase down will yield cumulative compliance savings for industry.
In 2036 alone, the year the final reduction step is made, this rule is expected to prevent the equivalent of 187 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – roughly equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from one out of every seven vehicles registered in the United States.
Chemours expands YF capacity
THE CHEMOURS COMPANY will be expand- ing its Opteon YF (HFO-1234yf) capacity by 40 per cent at its manufacturing facility in Ingleside, near Corpus Christi, Texas.
The Opteon YF and YF blends refrigerants are now used in millions of vehicles and thousands of retail stores around the world, with zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP) that is significantly lower than legacy refrigerants.
Chemours will invest $80 million in the capac- ity expansion project to support market demand. When Chemours opened the facility in June 2019, it more than tripled the company’s capac- ity of Opteon YF, making it one of the world’s
largest HFO-1234yf production facilities.
This investment, along with on-going de- bottlenecking projects, will further increase site capacity by approximately 40 per cent, accord- ing to the president of thermal & specialised
solutions at Chemours, Alisha Bellezza.
She said Opteon YF is a game-changing refrig- erant solution accelerating global sustainability
initiatives.
“As demand increases, we are proud to make the investment that will help our customers navigate the complex regulatory landscape while supporting their bottom line with a high-per- forming, readily available product,” Bellezza said.
The number of vehicles on United States roads using HFO-1234yf is estimated to be at least 80 million.
“... A GAME- CHANGING REFRIGERANT SOLUTION ACCELERATING GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES.”
Since the opening of the production facility, several equipment manufacturing companies have also selected Opteon products for residen- tial and commercial HVAC applications.
By 2025, Chemours estimates that its low- GWP product line will eliminate an estimated 325 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equiva- lent globally. ✺
CLIMATECONTROLNEWS.COM.AU
Chemours facility in Texas.
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