World News

EUROPE: The European Commission is to publish its quarterly refrigerant price monitoring report online following requests from the Cooling Post.

EUROPE: The supply of HFC refrigerants in the European market remained stable in Q2, with no indications of limited availability or shortages, according to the latest price report from Öko-Recherche.

SWEDEN: SKVP, the Swedish cooling and heat pump association, has become the country’s national lead on the REAL Alternatives low GWP refrigerant training consortium.

USA: Refrigerant manufacturer Koura is now promoting R485A, its new CO2-based refrigerant blend, for low-temperature commercial and residential heat pumps and air conditioners.

USA: A man from St Louis, Missouri has admitted operating a Ponzi scheme linked to the trade in ozone-depleting R22 refrigerant.

USA: Leading refrigerant manufacturers Chemours and Honeywell have separately announced a means to retrofit older vehicles using R134a to the latest vehicle AC refrigerant R1234yf.

AFRICA: A leading figure in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry is calling for an end to the importation and sale of inefficient non-inverter air conditioners in Africa.

VIETNAM: Chinese air conditioning and refrigeration component manufacturer Sanhua has completed phase 2 of a US$60.8m investment in its factory in Vietnam.

USA: Suniso refrigerant lubricants are now being marketed and distributed exclusively by Petro-Canada Lubricants and strategic partners globally.

USA: The US Environmental protection Agency has completed settlements totalling over $115,000 against five companies who allegedly imported HFCs without allowances in violation of the US AIM Act. 

BELGIUM: Copeland has announced the closure of its Welkenraedt commercial air conditioning and refrigeration compressor factory.

USA: Atlanta-based HVACR equipment manufacturer Rheem has announced its intention to acquire fellow US manufacturer Nortek Global HVAC (NGH) from Madison Industries.

SOUTH KOREA: LG Electronics has expanded its global heat pump R&D network with the establishment of the Chinese Consortium for Advanced Heat Pump Research (CCAHR) in Harbin.

JAPAN: Panasonic and Yanmar Energy Systems are to establish a joint venture to develop and manufacture gas engine heat pump (GHP) air conditioners.

IRELAND: Carrier Solutions UK has appointed Viridus Energy as exclusive distributor in the Republic of Ireland for its residential and light commercial heating and cooling product range.

FINLAND: MAN Energy Solutions is to supply a 33MW air-to-water heat pump unit to Finnish energy company Helen Oy for its Patola heating plant complex in Helsinki.

CHINA: Unconfirmed Chinese press reports claim that Haier plans to invest CNY2.5bn (US$350m) to build a new smart manufacturing air conditioning factory in Qingdao, eastern Shandong Province.

USA: The University of Kansas has been awarded $26m to establish a technology hub for the creation of a sustainable and circular refrigerant economy.

USA: ASHRAE has launched a new resources hub to help design and operations engineers to maintain optimal temperature and humidity levels in data centres.

EUROPE: Without additional adaptation measures, temperature-related deaths in Europe could rise by 13.5% annually by the end of this century, according to a new study.

POLAND: While official investigations continue into the fatal heat pump explosion in Chrząstowice, more details have emerged regarding the incident.

DENMARK: Danfoss has officially opened its new commercial heat pump test facility at its Application Development Centre in Nordborg, Denmark.

HONG KONG: Researchers in Hong Kong claim to have developed an elastocaloric cooling device capable of achieving a record-breaking temperature lift of 75K.

POLAND: A domestic heat pump explosion has been blamed for the deaths of two people in Chrząstowice, south-west Poland. Local press reports say a 30-year-old…

TURKEY: Istanbul-based refrigerant supplier Derkim Kimya has been appointed as a sales agent for Daikin’s R407H replacement for R404A.

POLAND: The automotive industry in Poland is calling for more decisive action from its government in the fight against a tide of illegal R134a refrigerant.

DENMARK: Danfoss has reported sales down 9% to €5,012m and operating profit down 22% to €533m in the first half of this year.