Three educational and awareness-raising events within...

A two-day Workshop held at CIFT

A two-day workshop on the theme “Future Refrigeration India” was held in Kochi on 29-30 November 2021. The event was jointly organised by the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR-CIFT, Kochi) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU, Norway). The objective of the programme was to encourage the implementation of clean cooling technologies by adopting R744 system design for the maritime sector. The workshop was held in a hybrid mode (physical and online meeting), jointly organised by Dr. Ravishankar C. N (Director CIFT, Kochi) and Prof. Dr. Armin Hafner (NTNU, Norway). The event highlighted the main climate change concerns and their impact on the environment and society. It provided information about the available technologies for clean cooling and heating, based on scientific methods and state-of-the art systems in other global markets. These units enable end-users in India to significantly reduce the direct impact of refrigeration demand on global warming.

A side event to the workshop was also organised, where discussions were held on the adoption of CO₂ refrigeration systems for the seafood industries and fishing vessels between the INDEE+ team (Dr. Simarpreet Singh and Prof. M.S Dasgupta) and the seafood industry representatives, the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and (Matsyafed) regarding the adoption of CO₂ refrigeration systems for the seafood industries and fishing vessels was held. For a better understanding of the technology, the workshop participants made a site visit trip to the CO₂ refrigeration unit previously sent by NTNU to CIFT (October 2021) within the framework of INDEE+ and the INTPART EduCool projects ⁽¹⁾ for the educational purposes of the projects. Various training strategies for technicians and operators were discussed to make a good use of the now locally available R744 training units. The Kerala State Co-operative Federation for Fisheries Development Ltd. (Matsyafed). For a better understanding of the technology, the workshop participants visited the CO₂ refrigeration unit previously sent by NTNU to CIFT (October 2021) within the framework of INDEE+ and the INTPART EduCool projects for the educational purposes of the projects. Various training strategies for technicians and operators were discussed to make good use of the now locally available R744 training units.

Second Secretary (MFA) Visit at IIT Madras

On December 15, 2021, the Second Secretary of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Karina Asbjørnsen and the Advisor Mr. Suresh Mathevan (Embassy of Norway) visited the CO₂ refrigeration facility established the during INDEE ⁽²⁾ project at IIT Madras. Thorough discussions with Prof. M.P. Maiya and Dr. Simarpreet Singh were held on the overall findings of the CO₂ demo site and the performance achieved by the facility . The impact of the project findings on the HVAC&R community and the resulting awareness of the use of CO₂ refrigeration technologies have been identified. This is an inspiring testimony to the Indian government’s continued development and commitment to environmentally friendly technologies, supporting Indian vendors to become global suppliers of this clean refrigeration technology in the future.

Two-day Workshop and Training Session at IIT Madras

An additional two-days training and workshop course on “R744 Refrigeration Technology” were conducted by Dr. Simarpreet Singh (Researcher, NTNU) at the IIT Madras campus on 15-16 December 2021. Industrial experts and newly recruited Postdoctoral and PhD researchers within the INDEE+ project have participated in this knowledge dissemination event. The course focused on the utilisation of the multi-ejector solution for CO₂ refrigeration systems. Such expansion work recovery devices enable to increase the energy efficiency of R744 units when heat must be rejected to the ambient in hot climates instead of utilising the heat recovery potential in a smart way. Several studies previously performed by the team of Prof. Dr. Armin Hafner (MultiPack EU project ⁽³⁾) have been highlighted. The aim of the course is to transfer knowledge and raise awareness of performance, efficiency, and reliability of the CO₂ refrigeration technology in tropical regions among future refrigeration specialists. The course consisted of six lectures on CO₂ refrigeration technologies, a software demonstration and two hands-on-practice sessions on the INDEE test-rig facility at IIT Madras. The outcomes of the event had a positive impact on the participants in terms of the utilisation and application of clean refrigeration technologies in the short term.