Brussels, 5 December 2017: The past twelve months have been full of innovation in the HVAC&R sector. The winter 2017 edition of Accelerate Europe celebrates the people, companies and ideas that are disrupting the HVAC&R industry and making the business case for natural refrigerants even more compelling.

This issue focuses on the first ever Accelerate Europe awards, which were presented to five visionary movers and shakers in an evening ceremony at the ATMOsphere Europe conference – organised by Accelerate publisher shecco – in Berlin in September.

This issue’s cover star, Menno van der Hoff, has devoted much of his career to furthering the cause of natural refrigerants in HVAC applications. Accelerate Europe sat down with the Person of the Year award winner to find out what makes him tick.

ATMOsphere Europe participants in Berlin were asked to choose the Innovation of the Year award winner in an exciting poll. End users, meanwhile, were recognised with Best in Sector awards in three different categories – food retail, light commercial, and industrial. This issue profiles all the lucky winners.

With Europe’s industrial and commercial refrigeration sectors already adopting natural refrigerants at lightning speed, ATMOsphere Europe also focused on potential new growth areas – such as transport. Buses are one area where natural refrigerants can make an impact here. Accelerate Europe was at Busworld in Kortrijk, Belgium, to find out more.

The HVAC theme continues with a journey to Denmark, where subsidies are supporting district heating networks that harness heat pumps to help reduce emissions and improve efficiency.

Subsidies are helping to support the HVAC&R market in Spain too. At the ATMOsphere Ibérica conference in Madrid, the Spanish Environment Ministry announced a new subsidy that will help facilitate the transition to natural refrigerants. Read all about it in this issue.

November’s Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Montreal, Canada followed news from the preceding Conference of the Parties in Bonn, Germany that the Kigali Amendment will enter into force on the earliest possible date: 1 January 2019. Accelerate was in both places to find out how these policy developments will affect the natural refrigerants market.

The French government’s ambitious environmental agenda, meanwhile, is helping natural refrigerants to take off in France. This issue reports from Sifa, France’s most important HVAC&R trade show, on how regulation is influencing the market.

With a majority of ATMOsphere Europe participants identifying heat pumps as the most promising future growth area for natural refrigerants, this issue’s Technology Focus looks at what’s needed to facilitate the transition away from HFCs.

Coverage of the hydrocarbon standards process, the HFC phase-down in Southeast Asia, and compressor technology innovations are among other stories waiting for you in this winter edition.

For all this and more, click here to read the winter edition of Accelerate Europe online.

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