Sydney, 20 July 2017: With the passing of HFC phase-down legislation by the Turnbull government giving manufacturers and end users alike an extra incentive to invest in climate-friendly technologies, the winter edition of Accelerate Australia & NZ looks at the progress being made in bringing natural refrigerant technologies to the region.

Woolworths recently opened its first transcritical CO₂ store – at Greenway Village mall in Colebee, New South Wales. For this issue’s cover story, Accelerate Australia & NZ visited Dario Ferlin, Woolworths’ sustainable innovations engineer, to hear how the system can operate in temperatures of up to 45°C.

“It’s great to see big-name retailers like Woolworths on the cover of Accelerate Australia & NZ. Dario Ferlin and his team are proving that CO₂ transcritical systems are viable and efficient solutions even in Australia’s high ambient temperatures. At ATMOsphere Australia, it was interesting to hear how quickly the natural-refrigerant market here is moving,” said Andrew Williams, editor of Accelerate Australia & NZ.

HVAC&R industry leaders across the region see opportunities for natural refrigerants, particularly since the passing by the Australian government of the amended Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management (OSPGGM) Act in June. This issue takes a detailed look at the new bill, which obliges Australia to start phasing down HFC imports from 2018.

Beyond these shores, at this year’s International Food Machinery & Technology Exhibition (FOOMA Japan 2017) in Tokyo, several market-leading manufacturers were proud to display new technologies harnessing natural refrigerants.

In the United States, uptake of natural refrigerant-based systems looks poised to increase despite a climate of regulatory uncertainty. Hannaford Supermarkets and the Defense Commissary Agency are demonstrating how to replace ageing HFC systems in existing stores with transcritical CO₂ systems. Check out this edition’s coverage of the ATMOsphere America conference in San Diego.

For heat pumps to be more successful they must be efficient, have a low environmental impact and be economical to buy. This issue’s technology focus considers how propane heat pumps meet all these requirements, but more must be done to boost their uptake.

Features on SCM Frigo and Beijer Ref bringing CO₂ condensing units to Australia and Austrian company AHT Cooling Systems add to this edition of Accelerate Australia & NZ.

For all this and more, click here to read the autumn edition of Accelerate Australia & NZ online.

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