Bitzer held its 2013 National Technical Roadshow throughout September, featuring product updates, the latest on F-Gas regulations in Europe and details of successful customer trials that are currently underway in Australia.
In a presentation outlining the global situation for refrigerants over the next two decades, Bitzer’s director of application engineering and product performance, Heinz Jurgensen, warned of challenging times ahead, pointing out that by the year 2021, customers will not be able to fill existing systems.
It’s a scary scenario because there are very few options when it comes to searching for a refrigerant with a global warming potential (GWP) of less than 150, which is what customers need to meet the current regulatory mandate in Europe.
“With the exception of HFOs, propane [and] ammonia, there are not many options,” Jurgensen said. “Anything with a GWP under 1000 will be flammable or toxic; industry really hasn’t delivered anything yet. Based on the current market, it's fair to say that from 2021 the average refrigerant will be flammable.
“When you change refrigerants its a major change to your system. If your system is optimised for a specific refrigerant and you change it don’t expect big results. It’s not only new systems you have to redesign, it also means ensuring leakage rates drop substantially.”
Jurgensen said the only thing that won’t be questioned in the current regulatory environment is naturals.
For customers, he said there is a lot to consider. “Whenever this topic is discussed it's mostly about the environment but there are other important issues that need to be considered including cost, availability, material compatibility,” he said. “It has to be thermodynamically efficient; the environmentally friendly factor is only one part of the equation.”
As a result, he said Bitzer’s latest refrigerant report includes a number of major revisions. HFOs and HFO blends have been included in the comparisons and the latest report also includes a new category of oils.
“When politicians talk about phase-downs it is never enough; it inevitably leads to bans or complete phase-outs,” Jurgensen said. “When the Montreal Protocol treaty began
it was for a 50 per cent reduction in CFCs. In the end they were completely banned.”
While the first F-Gas regulations began in 2006, he said each update included bigger HFC phase-downs. Jurgensen presented figures showing that in Europe in 2010, 44 per cent of HFC emissions came from R404A. This was followed by R134a and R410A.
“I am not sure if it will happen in the year 2018 or 2020 but R404A will be the first to be removed,” he said. “At the end of last year the European Commission committed to reducing F-Gas emissions by 79 per cent by the year 2030.
“But in June this year the European Parliament amended that figure to 84 per cent by 2030.” Outlining the phase-out progression, Jurgensen said there will be a number of RAC sector bans from 2015 with a seven to nine per cent phase-down from 2016, 37 per cent from 2018, and a complete ban on all HFCs with a GWP larger than 150 from 1 January, 2020.
Jurgensen said it won’t just be phase-downs but the introduction of taxes and levies as well. He pointed to Denmark, Norway and Australia, which have all introduced a carbon tax, with France and Spain set to follow in the next few months.
There are some options to move from R404A to 407A, he said. “134a is one option but the GWP drop isn’t big enough. R32 is an option and can help with the transition but it's flammable. Politically, HFOs will be acceptable, but really it's time to learn about naturals, to learn about their safe handling.
“If you can design systems with naturals you are safe for long-term business. Just reducing leakage rates won’t get us there.
“My recommendation is to start experimenting with naturals because in this environment nothing is certain except change.”