TABLE OF CONTENTS

About this GUIDE
A Short Overview
“The function of leadership is to produce more leaders,
not more followers.” This has never been more true than
at this very moment when bold steps need to be taken
by the international business community to advance
more sustainable production and consumption patterns.
With pressure by rulemakers, business partners and consumers
to push environmental issues up the agenda unlikely
to subside anytime soon, companies are tasked to
re-think established solutions and implement environmentally
benign, yet economically sensible technologies
to seize their individual “eco-advantage”.
The use of refrigerants free of ozone-depleting and global
warming characteristics in heating, refrigeration & airconditioning
will continue taking a central role in the
debate about the “low-hanging fruits” of greenhouse
gas emissions reductions at all levels – from international
climate talks down to national strategic plans. It is
no longer unthinkable to say CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs are
not going to stand the test of time. Air, ammonia, carbon
dioxide, water and the groups of hydrocarbons, on the
other hand, stand ready as current and future solutions
in residential refrigerators, commercial heat pumps, industrial
waste energy recovery or global food logistics.
But while the environmental and technological benefits
of these “natural refrigerants” are now being acknowledged
by more and more business leaders, only few
studies have heard the industry’s voice on their economic
prospects. This guide sets out to shed light on precisely
this question: Where do natural refrigerants make
most sense today and tomorrow, and what is impeding
their success in the world and specifically in the European
Union? It has listened to little less than 1,300 voices
from the HVAC&R (Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning
& Refrigeration), industry responding to a global survey
conducted between March to September 2011.
Chapter 1- a User’s Guide to Natural Refrigerants - briefly
summarises the characteristics of ammonia, carbon dioxide
and hydrocarbons, while trying to depict their use
in four “ecosystems”: Transport, City & Buildings, Industry
& Special Applications, and The Food Chain. The chapter
concludes with an outlook on the adoption potential of
natural working fluids in different world regions.
Chapter 2 - will look at the European market situation today,
by both analysing the technology potential, as well
as the impact of European Union rules and standards
on developing a prosperous market for natural working
fluids. For the first time, an attempt is made to quantify
one of the unfolding success stories in Europe: the use of
CO 2
transcritical supermarket refrigeration systems. The
chapter closes with case studies - evident examples of
installations where natural refrigerants make sense both
from a business and environmental perspective.
Chapter 3 - then takes a glance at success factors for ammonia,
carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons in tomorrow’s
Europe. This chapter encompasses some of the GUIDE:
2012’s core messages by drawing attention to existing
barriers to the market uptake of natural refrigerants,
their major strengths, and by presenting the European
industry’s expectations per industry sector as regards
natural working fluids for the years 2012-2020. The
GUIDE: 2012 concludes with a Directory listing of European-based
companies and international organisations
already active in natural refrigerants today, base largely
on responses to an HVAC&R industry survey.
This guide puts forward evidence that there is a market
for more sustainable refrigerant solutions, and that it is
growing. But before industry, policy and consumers can
inspire others to become leaders in adopting HFC-free
refrigerants they need to know first where we stand today.
I hope that this guide can help this process.
Nina Burhenne
Head of Market Research
Editor & Lead Author
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