By Refrigerants Australia executive director Dr Greg Picker Recent speculation about the availability and future of refrigerants prices, unnecessary scaremongering and misinformation has increased the level of concern and uncertainty among the industry. This article looks to provide insight into the context, background, impacts and what consumers can expect to see in the near future … Continue reading Cool heads prevail: Managing Australia’s refrigerant market
A line on page 38 of the fourth Cold Hard Facts report, commissioned by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, sums up six years of lost opportunity: “The service usage for small MAC is significant and represents almost 19% of all HFCs consumed on RAC equipment in 2022.” That year, 644.6 tonnes … Continue reading Cold Hard Facts and uncomfortable truths about Australia’s HFC phase-down
The European Union’s ambitious HFC phase-down continues to yield unintended consequences, with the lucrative black market for R134a and other regulated high global warming potential (GWP) products showing no signs of slowing down as smugglers capitalise on sky-rocketing prices caused by legislated quotas that restrict supply. Quota System Creates a Perfect Storm The EU’s fluorinated … Continue reading Unintended consequences: Europe faces endless whack-a-mole against refrigerant smugglers
The European rail industry is embracing R290, a hydrocarbon refrigerant with a global warming potential (GWP) of 3 for train HVAC systems. As well as aligning with the European Union’s F-Gas regulations and potential restrictions on PFAS substances, this shift marks a significant departure from high-GWP HFCs like R407C and R134a. Liebherr Transportation Systems, a … Continue reading Hydrocarbon-based railway HVAC does without secondary loop
Australia’s reputation as a global leader in lifecycle refrigerant management (LRM) took centre stage at the United Nations Thirty-Sixth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP) and the Thirteenth Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention (COP) in Bangkok. Among the delegation was Ian Stangroome, a director of VASA and a board … Continue reading Montreal Protocol meeting highlights Australian refrigerant stewardship as envy of the world
Ford announced at the recent ATMOsphere MAC Summit in Berlin that it aims to tackle the challenge of electric vehicle thermal management with the use of R290-based full secondary loop heat pumps. Developed with Denso, the technology uses propane as a refrigerant and is said to surpass traditional direct expansion systems by demonstrating significant efficiency … Continue reading Ford and Denso explore hydrocarbon refrigerant for EV thermal management
Chemours and Honeywell have announced the development of a “retrofit approach for vehicles using the legacy R134a mobile air-conditioning refrigerant” that enables these systems to run R1234yf. As Honeywell rightly points out, there are hundreds of millions of cars on the roads “potentially leaking R134a every day.” Replacing all that refrigerant, with its global … Continue reading Retrofits to return: Why it won’t be simple
During the 2024 Wire & Gas Gala Awards Dinner, VASA president Brett Meads unveiled a crucial new awareness campaign designed to address the risks posed by DIY refrigerant products and emerging multi-refrigerant market. In his speech, Meads was joined by John McCormack, a director of Refrigerants Australia, and Michael Bennett AM, former ARC chair and … Continue reading Refrigerant awareness campaign announced at Wire & Gas 2024
A column by VASA President Brett Meads You could be forgiven for thinking the following is a crude attempt at satire, perhaps even sarcasm – or maybe a bad dream – however, you would be wrong. This is a bizarre set of circumstances, with long-term negative environmental consequences, thanks to a sad omission by those … Continue reading Lack of restriction on high-GWP mobile air-conditioning refrigerants in Australia: A missed opportunity
Proposals for a PFAS ban that conflicts with the finalisation of European Union F-Gas regulations have raised significant concerns among various stakeholders. Current drafts of these regulations pose a threat to global air-conditioning and refrigeration market as it works to integrate new-generation refrigerants and technologies aimed at combating climate change. The proposed PFAS ban: Known … Continue reading Europe makes progress on conflicting PFAS ban and F-Gas phase-out regulations
