Tag: refrigerant

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

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

Cool-Safe has been accredited by New Zealand’s environment minister as a product stewardship scheme for the priority product refrigerants and other synthetic greenhouse gases. The organisation says a regulated stewardship scheme, with full participation, will help provide “better insights on the whole lifecycle of refrigerant, from import to destruction, increasing the impact of decisions made … Continue reading Cool-Safe accredited as refrigerant and SGG stewardship scheme in NZ

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

Cool-Safe ups refrigerant bounty to $40/kg New Zealand refrigerant stewardship operator Cool-Safe has announced a significant increase in its Bounty Buy-Back payments for recovered synthetic refrigerants, from $NZ25.00/kg to $NZ40.00/kg. Cool-Safe last increased this bounty from $NZ15/kg to $NZ25/kg in October 2022. Funding is derived from ‘New Zealand Units’ obtained by offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, … Continue reading Cool-Safe ups refrigerant bounty to $40/kg

View from NZ with VASA New Zealand Director Catherine Tocker A robust refrigerant stewardship scheme for New Zealand, backed by government regulations and aided by the establishment of a domestic end-of-life refrigerant destruction facility is edging closer to reality – but addressing the skilled labour shortage remains a key ingredient to meeting environmental goals. Uncertainty … Continue reading NZ edges closer to robust, regulated refrigerant stewardship scheme

A pioneering research study led by Shin-ichi Ohkoshi from the University of Tokyo, in collaboration with Tsukuba and Osaka Universities, Aisin Corporation, and Molsis Inc., has resulted in the creation of an inorganic solid refrigerant claimed to deliver the world’s highest cooling performance. Solid refrigerants are being explored as possible next-generation cooling technologies due to … Continue reading More solid refrigerant developments