AACHEN (GERMANY), October 15, 2014 — Emerson Climate Technologies, a business of Emerson (NYSE: EMR), announces its ongoing investment in sustainable refrigerant alternatives in anticipation of European Union rules. Both the European Union and U.S. EPA have announced plans to transition new applications away from high global warming potential refrigerants (R404A/ R507A).
F-gas Regulation 517/2014 is one of the major driving forces in the European Union to reduce the emission of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) to the atmosphere. The regulation has entered into force on 9th June 2014 with the clear timeline of the phase-down till 2030 but most practical implications become effective on January 1st 2015. R404A/ R507A are the main refrigerants used in commercial refrigeration and contribute significantly to global warming. They will gradually disappear from the market. This is through bans on HFCs with a GWP of 2500 and above for new stationary refrigeration equipment and for the servicing of such systems as of January 2020.
“Emerson has a long-standing commitment of proactively investing in and evaluating sustainable alternatives for commercial refrigeration, specifically for components and controls with environmentally friendly refrigerant capability,” said Rajan Rajendran, Vice President, Systems Innovation Center and Sustainability, Emerson Climate Technologies. “Emerson actively participated and published several reports in AHRI’s Low-GWP Alternative Refrigerants Evaluation Program (AREP) and has invested in a full lineup of R134a, R407A/C/F compressors for commercial refrigeration applications and R744, propane and ammonia offerings for appropriate applications, depending on regulation and performance.”
In addition, Emerson is actively engaged in the qualification of lower GWP (600-1500) A1 refrigerant alternatives such as R448A and R449A to replace R404A/ R507A type refrigerants, and R450A and R513A as an alternative for R134a. Emerson is prepared to devote more resources and support customers with field trials. Production release of a wide range of scroll and semi-hermetic compressors for R448A, R449A and R450A is expected in Q1/2015, with R513A to follow soon.