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
Mercedes-Benz issued a recall for certain 2022-2023 AMG G63s and 2023 G550 SUVs in the United States due to a data mismatch during production, which resulted in the vehicles being filled with the incorrect refrigerant. While the recall notice does not explicitly state the refrigerant used, it is likely that the SUVs were charged with … Continue reading Mystery Mercedes recall over refrigerants
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
German compressor manufacturer Secop has unveiled the BD Nano, a cutting-edge silent compressor designed for battery-driven applications such as motorhomes and electric vehicles. Secop anticipates that the BD Nano will boost the performance of in-car compressor refrigerators, such as those found in electric vehicles like the Kia EV5, which has a four-litre capacity, and the … Continue reading New onboard fridge compressor for EVs
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
Refrigerant manufacturer Honeywell, which co-developed R1234yf with Chemours, has filed an application with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking approval for the use of YF as a retrofit refrigerant in R134a systems. This step, previously considered unlikely due to YF’s A2L mild flammability rating, was motivated by growing concern about the availability and … Continue reading R1234yf retrofits coming after all?
Results from the 2022-2023 motor vehicle refrigerant survey are in, suggesting a bit of a bounce-back for hydrocarbon refrigerant usage – although participation in the survey was higher with 548 vehicles analysed compared with 500 last year. Continue reading HC bounceback detected in 2022-2023 vehicle refrigerant survey
The last of this year’s future:gas refrigerant seminar series take place in Darwin and Perth during the first week of September. More alternative refrigerants and technologies are on the horizon as the global automotive industry grapples with the technical challenge of simultaneously keeping vehicle occupants comfortable and every component of an electrified drivetrain at optimum … Continue reading Final two future:gas seminars for 2023
