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
Major shareholders of global refrigerant specialist A-Gas have reached an agreement to sell a majority stake in the company to TPG Rise Climate, the climate investing platform of TPG Rise. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Current major shareholder KKR will … Continue reading TPG Rise Climate acquires majority stake in A-Gas but KKR remains involved
Koura is preparing to introduce its R444A refrigerant as a long-awaited replacement for R1234yf in the United States automotive aftermarket. Initially developed over a decade ago as an alternative to R134a in vehicle air-conditioning systems, R444A will now be offered as a compatible and more affordable alternative to R1234yf. Like YF, R444A caries an A2L … Continue reading New R1234yf alternative to launch in US
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
