Honeywell and Daikin Chemical Europe have announced an agreement to distribute Solstice L40X (R-455A) to comply with stringent EU regulations for environmentally preferable refrigerants.
Daikin Chemical Europe will sell the product as Creard R-455A for use in commercial refrigeration applications.
Daikin Chemical Europe selected R-455A as it has a GWP below 150 which is the F-Gas limit allowed in some commercial applications from January 1, 2022.
The addition of R-455A also expands Daikin’s line-up of low GWP high-performing refrigerants, which includes Creard R-407H, a replacement for legacy refrigerant R-404A.
R-455A can be installed using a range of new refrigeration systems already qualified for use and with which refrigeration contractors are already familiar and trained to provide service. It provides similar performance to R-404A, but offers 96 per cent lower global warming potential and greater operating efficiency, according to said Tobias Bargsten, business manager refrigerants, of Daikin Chemical Europe.
“Our commitment is to provide our customers products that best fit their needs, and we identified R-455A from Honeywell as a safe and efficient replacement for R-404A as used in various applications like the refrigerated food retail segment,” Bargsten said.
“This product complements Creard R-407H in our product range and allows our customers to comply with stringent F-gas regulations while meeting growing energy efficiency needs.”
Vice president and general manager of Honeywell Fluorine Products Europe, Middle East and Africa, Julien Soulet, said Solstice L40X systems provide long-term environmental improvements and can offer up to 40 per cent capital and 15 per cent lifetime operating cost benefits over alternatives.
“Solstice L40X has been adopted by many OEM producers and is commercially available across Europe. With this deal, Honeywell continues its support to assist the industry in moving towards the future with environmentally preferable and energy-efficient refrigerants,” Soulet said.
R-455A is a mildly flammable, zeotropic refrigerant with an ultra-low GWP of 146, making it both F-Gas-ready and the safest A2L solution for commercial refrigeration applications, including plug-in cabinets, condensing units, monoblocks for cold and freezer rooms, heat pumps and chillers. The refrigerant is qualified for use in many leading compressor technologies, including Tecumseh, Bitzer, Emerson, Boyard and Frascold – with many other compressor and condensing unit OEMs having also approved or in the final stages of testing.
Daikin has expertise in using fluorinated (HFC, HFO) as well as non-fluorinated gases because the company believes in diversity of refrigerant choice to allow the best-suited solution to be used in each application.