A new comprehensive report on transcritical CO2 refrigeration demonstrates the different approaches to the technology taken by supermarkets and convenience/small stores, among numerous other findings, according to a recent webinar on the report.
The complete, three-part report, “World Guide to Transcritical CO2 Refrigeration” was released last month by shecco, publisher of this website.
It was followed up with an interactive webinar on July 23 sharing key findings on the global trends in the transcritical CO2 market.
The free virtual event was hosted by shecco’s Market Development department with presentations by the lead author, Ilana Koegelenberg, Market Development Manager at shecco; and the analyst responsible for the data collection, Zita Laumen, Market Analyst at shecco. Watch a recording of the event (you will be asked to login/register first).
Among the findings: globally, there are more than 35,500 installations of transcritical CO2 systems, including 29,000 in Europe, 5,000 in Japan and 990 in North America. In Europe, 90% of the installations are in supermarkets; in Japan 80% are in convenience/small) stores; and in Canada, 40% are in supermarkets and 30% are in data centers.
In a global survey described in the Guide, 87% of respondents said that transcritical CO2 would dominate in supermarkets a decade from now, while 42% said propane (R290) self-contained display cases would dominate. By contrast, 66% of respondents said that R290 cases would dominate in convenience/small stores in a decade, while 51% said transcritical CO2 would. (Multiple selections were allowed.)
In her presentation, Koegelenberg kicked things off with some background on the Guide and the need in the HVAC&R market for such a resource to help accelerate the uptake of transcritical CO2 systems around the world. She also thanked the 28 supporters of the Guide, whose partnership made publication possible.
“With the help of extensive research, the ‘World Guide to Transcritical CO2 Refrigeration’ has highlighted the great potential of CO2 for the use in refrigeration installations of any size,” said Koegelenberg. “Although it may not always be the most suitable solution for a particular installation in a particular geographical region, it is certainly worth considering as it often brings great environmental and efficiency gains.”.
“With increasing regulatory pressures to phase down harmful refrigerants and even the low-GWP synthetic refrigerants starting to show warning signs, the future is clearly natural,” she added.
Laumen took the audience through the seven chapters of the Guide, highlighting key findings in each. This included a section on CO2 as refrigerant; applications; the market today; small/convenience stores; commercial systems; industrial applications; and the predicted future trends. Particular attention was paid to the chapters dealing with the findings from the worldwide survey and manufacturer data collection on the amount of transcritical CO2 refrigeration systems in each region.
Koegelenberg then handled the conclusion of the Guide’s findings, also sharing a few slides on other ongoing projects relevant to the natural refrigerant industry.
The webinar concluded with an interactive Q&A session to answer the various questions submitted throughout the session. Many questions were received from the audience, showing interest from key stakeholders. The suitability of transcritical CO2 for warm ambient conditions was highlighted, and there were a number of queries into specific components for the refrigeration systems.
Download the complete World Guide to Transcritical CO2 Refrigeration.
