Thermo King sells first R452A fridge unit

BRUSSELS: Thermo King has supplied its first transport refrigeration units running on the R404A replacement R452A.

Announced last year as a lower GWP option, Thermo King has now confirmed the first delivery in Europe of the new SLXe units with the R452A refrigerant to Il Gruppo Lando, the Italian operator of the iperlando and Lando supermarket chains.

“Environmental responsibility is one of our prime concerns and we’re always on the lookout for innovations that helps us be more sustainable,” said Gianfranco Marchetto, logistic, transports, and distribution manager at the Il Gruppo Lando. “When Thermo King announced the units with this next generation refrigerant, we decided to join them in this innovative move and take a proactive approach to modernize and lower the environmental impact of our own delivery fleet.”

According to Thermo King, the new solution in its SLXe trailer units offer the same high level of performance as existing units, including the same cooling capacity, pull-down and fuel efficiency. In addition, micro-channel condensers allow for an even lower refrigerant charge.

Thermo King is also offering a refrigerant replacement service through its dealer network for customers who want to retrofit their existing units to the new refrigerant.

The R452A refrigerant option will be expanded across its truck transport products offering in the coming months.

Thermo King announced its adoption of R452A, a DuPont refrigerant also known as Opteon XP44, in September last year. The refrigerant it is designed to replace, R404A, is targeted for phase-down in Europe due to its high GWP. Although R452A has a relatively high GWP of 2140, it is virtually half the GWP of R404A and has considerable environmental appeal as it can be used as a “drop-in” alternative.

Earlier this month, Carrier Transicold announced that it, too, would be offering the new refrigerant as an otpion.

Related stories:

Thermo King adopts R404A replacement – September 24, 2014
BELGIUM: Thermo King has adopted DuPont’s new R404A replacement refrigerant R452A as a lower GWP option for its transport refrigeration customers. Read more…

Carrier Transicold announces R452A option – April 14, 2015
UK: Carrier Transicold is the latest major transport refrigeration company to offer R452A as an optional alternative to R404A. Read more…