Growing uptake of natural refrigerants in commercial refrigeration

The number of installed refrigeration systems using R744 (CO₂) and hydrocarbons has risen sharply, according to a report published in June 2022 by ATMOsphere (formerly shecco). With the introduction of specific bans on higher GWPs in commercial refrigeration systems and hermetically sealed refrigeration units from 2020, the market share oif these systems has increased, namely in Europe.

 

Hydrocarbon refrigeration installations worldwide

The uptake of hydrocarbon systems has mainly occurred in stand-alone plug-in display cases and reached about 2.7 million units in Europe. According to ATMOsphere, there are about 875,000 units installed in the U.S. and 2,500 in Japan.

 

The evolution of transcritical CO₂ installations in the world

Data collected from European manufacturers indicate that 14% of the systems currently used in commercial refrigeration in Europe (38,400 units) are transcritical CO₂ systems.

Globally, the number of transcritical CO₂ installations for the commercial sector has increased exponentially from just 140 in 2008 to more than 38,000 by 2021. With an average annual growth of 39%, the years with the highest growth correspond to the entry into force of the regulation: 67% between 2014 and 2015 and 59% between 2015 and 2016.

According to the authors of the report, this suggests that market players are attentive to policy regulations and able to react accordingly.

 

 

 

 

Source 

Accelerating the EU’s shift towards natural refrigerant domestic heat pumps. https://atmosphere.cool/heat-pumps-report-2022/