Natural refrigerants in europe: the drivers and challenges for european food retailers

Over the past decade, the use of alternative technologies to the hydro fluorocarbon (HFC) direct-expansion system for supermarket refrigeration has gained interest and momentum, with European food retailers leading the adoption of natural refrigerant technologies globally. The uptake of natural refrigerants in food retail has doubled in the last two years alone. Today, as energy consumption and leakage of traditional fluorinated gases are increasing areas of concern, a growing number of food retailers are revising their strategies to incorporate more sustainable refrigeration solutions.

Fluorinated gases (F-gases) found in synthetic coolants are significant contributors to global warming, relative to natural coolants. While F-gases replace ozone-depleting and high global-warming chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), they still have a global warming potential (GWP) up to 23,000 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2) 1. F-gases can escape into the atmosphere from leaks of pipework involved in refrigeration systems in supermarkets …         

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