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Another successful IIR Gustav Lorentzen conference 2016

Dedicated to natural refrigerants, mainly ammonia, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons, Gustav Lorentzen 2016 was a great success attracting over 270 people and more than 145 papers from leading international researchers and industrialists.

Gustav Lorentzen 2016: An ever-growing conference


The IIR Gustav Lorentzen conference 2016 continues to impress


Hosted by the Institute of Refrigeration at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, the 12th IIR-Gustav Lorentzen Conference took place from 21 to 24 August 2016.


Dedicated to natural refrigerants, mainly ammonia, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons, the conference was a great success attracting over 270 people and more than 145 papers from leading international researchers and industrialists.

The exciting event programme included four streams of technical research papers, three key note addresses, three tours, two workshops, three short courses, IIR Commission and working group meetings, and EU project workshops.



The IIR Commission and working group meetings scheduled included:


  • Joint B1 and B2 Commission Meeting (Monday 22nd August)

An overview of the current and future activities of the working groups in relation to the two commissions were discussed, with particular attention paid to the LCCP working group. These activities included upcoming conferences, such as the TPTPR2017 conference to be held in Seoul in April 2017, announced by Prof. Yong-Tae Kang, and the GL2018 conference to be held in Valencia in June 2018 announced by Prof. Jose Miguel Corberan.

Publication activities focused on the review of the book “Ammonia as a refrigerant”, and the informatory notes on LCCP and Solar cooling (prepared by Prof. Renato Lazzarin).

The next meeting is scheduled to take place next year during TPTPR2017.


  • Joint E1 and E2 Commission Meeting (Monday 22nd August)

Attendees were welcomed and updated on events, publications and other activities of the commissions by chairperson Alberto Coronas.

There was certainly no lack of ideas during this meeting where the organisation of a conference to commemorate the 200th anniversary of a renowned scientist, engineer and thermodynamics pioneer, expert in engineering and energy recovery, was well received and there was great enthusiasm to follow-up this idea.

The next meeting will be held in Rotterdam during the 12th IEA Heat Pump Conference 15-17 May 2017.


  • IIR Working Group on the Cold Chain in Warm Climates Meeting (Tuesday 23rd August)

During this meeting, efforts were focused on identifying different initiatives on how to better communicate on and raise awareness of this working group.

Ideas of getting involved in EU funded projects, and exploiting various social media channels to increase visibility and ease communication were discussed and well received by participants.

Currently, under the supervision of Giovanni Cortella, the working group is reviewing the guide on “Cold Storage”.


  • IIR Careers in refrigeration Working Group Meeting (Tuesday 23rd August)

The overall focus of this meeting was to attract the younger generation to the refrigeration industry, and increase both the cultural diversity and the number of women in the field.

Discussion highlighted key points touching on the recognition of the younger generation within the field, the status of refrigeration as well as the lack of specific degree qualifications in refrigeration.


  • 9th IIR LCCP Working Group Meeting (Tuesday 23rd August)

Chaired by Yunho Hwang, the progress of the working group was presented as well as the final version of the LCCP guidelines. The presentation included the results of the water chiller sample programme, the sensitivity study and the LCCP reduction results from application of advanced cycle options. Attendees got actively involved by sharing thoughts and inputs on this effort.

A very active working group over the years, this last meeting was used to finalise the drafted IIR informatory note.



Encouraging student involvement


In line with an IIR objective focused on bringing to the forefront careers in refrigeration, not just in relation to gender equality and ethnic diversity, but also in terms of attracting the younger generation, a Best Student paper competition was held during the IIR Gustav Lorentzen conference.


The three prizes awarded were:

  • Best student paper on the theme of sustainability and the winner of the best overall student paper was Mazyar Karampour for the paper “Integration of heating and air conditioning into a CO2 trans-critical booster system with parallel compression - Part II: Performance analysis based on field measurements”
  • Best student paper on the theme of Natural Working Fluids was Laura Nebot-Andrés for the paper “Experimental evaluation of a dedicated mechanical subcooling system in a CO2 transcritical refrigeration cycle”
  • Best student paper on the theme of Alternative Cycle was Meng Wang for the paper “Performance prediction of single-effect absorption heat pump cycles using ionic liquids”.


This was met with great enthusiasm and was an initiative to encourage involvement of future leaders of our industry.


Natural refrigerants are the ultimate solution to favour and their scope is rapidly expanding all over the world.

Nonetheless the issues relating to safety and energy efficiency still exist. Fortunately, research and development in using natural refrigerants is still very attractive to researchers and engineers working both at universities and in the industry.


See you at the next conference in the Gustav Lorentzen series is scheduled in June 2018 in Valence (Spain).