Refrigerant news: Dupont XP10

At Chillventa 2010, DuPont announced the development of a new refrigerant for use in commercial refrigeration systems. Opteon™ XP10 is based on HFO-1234yf and is characterized by its lower GWP (close to 600) compared with R134a, as well as its similarity to R134a in terms of its thermodynamic properties. Initial test results indicate that it is suitable for use as an alternative refrigerant for new medium-temperature commercial refrigeration systems based on R134a technology, or as a cost-effective replacement for R134a in existing systems. XP10 can also be used alongside CO2 in hybrid systems: XP10 for medium temperatures and CO2 for low temperatures. The company said that first pilot projects with food retailers such as Aldi Süd, Penny (both in Germany) and Spar (Austria) have been very encouraging in terms of operating performance and ease of use. DuPont is considering an initially limited commercial launch of XP10 in the EU between 2012 and 2013.