Carbon 4 Retails refrigeration

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

Fluorinated greenhouse gases (also called F-gases) are used in a wide range of everyday products, such as fridges, air conditioning systems, heat pumps, insulations, switchgear devices in electric power systems, fire extinguishing substances and medical devices. F-gases have a significant impact on the environment: in the past they were responsible for depleting the ozone layer (today the ozone-depleting substances are banned), and later they proved responsible for the current climate crisis.

In fact, F-gases are powerful greenhouse gases, with a global warming effect up to 23,000 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2). The European Union is therefore taking regulatory action to control F-gases as part of its policy to combat climate change.

The Regulation 2024/573 published on 20 February 2024 on fluorinated greenhouse gases (also known as F-GAS Regulation) introduces provisions to limit the production and use of fluorinated greenhouse gases, as well as the prohibition to use medium-high GWP (Global Warming Potential) F-gases in all sectors including RACHP, to achieve the complete phase out of all HFCs by 2050.

OBJECTIVES

The LIFE C4R project aimed to demonstrate the economic and technical feasibility of an innovative technological solution that greatly reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by substituting synthetic fluorinated refrigerants (HFCs) with CO2 in the commercial refrigeration sector.

The technology would provide the possibility to enlarge the field of application of such a technology to cold transportation, households, and industrial buildings, among other uses.
The project demonstrated that it is not only feasible but also economically beneficial to substitute HFCs with refrigerant CO2 in the retail sector, cutting the direct emissions by several thousand times, and providing substantial energy savings in any country, with any external temperature.

The project planned to test three different prototypes in Italy, and after having demonstrated the claimed performance, four additional pilots were to be developed in Spain and Romania to demonstrate the validity of the technology under different climate conditions. The technology completely removes synthetic fluorinated refrigerants from commercial refrigerating systems, creating an industrial showcase to support EU policy-makers to push for increased use of energy-efficient commercial appliances. The project thus aimed to contribute to the implementation of the EU regulation on fluorinated GHG and achieve the objectives set out in the European Climate Law, which targets a 55% cut in GHG emissions by 2030 (from 1990 levels) and makes climate neutrality by 2050 legally binding.

RESULTS

The project achieved its technical objectives and was able to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of novel technologies for the commercial refrigeration sector that significantly reduce GHG emissions using CO2 as a natural refrigerant with Global Warming Potential (GWP) equal to 1.

The activities implemented managed to achieve the specific expected objectives, namely:

1. To test the CO₂-based refrigeration solutions equipped with the novel technologies developed in real pilot cases. The project tested the CO2 refrigeration systems equipped with Full Transcritical Efficiency (FTE) and Extreme Temperature Efficiency (ETE) technologies in seven pilot retail stores located in three different EU countries with hot summer climates (Italy, Spain and Romania).
2. To demonstrate the increased efficiency compared to conventional CO₂ and f-gas solutions, even in hot climates. The tests carried out during the project confirmed that the refrigeration systems, using CO2 as a refrigerant equipped with FTE and ETE technologies, show an average reduction in energy consumption that ranges from 15% to 23% in any climate condition.
3. To demonstrate the reduced emissions of Green House Gas (GHG) for the C4R solutions compared to conventional F-gas refrigeration devices. The results of the tests done show a reduction in terms of GHG going from a minimum of 6% to a maximum of 21% on a life cycle basis (i.e., considering energy efficiency, use of low-GWP refrigerant, and emissions from the manufacturing phase).
4. To demonstrate the economic viability of the proposed solutions. The monitoring of the system’s performance under real operational conditions demonstrated the economic benefits of the proposed solutions, making the C4R solution competitive with the conventional ones. The two developed technologies have been introduced to the market just after the project end.
5. To provide recommendations for the revision of the EU F-gas regulation. The project provided very precise recommendations for the update of the policy concerning the use of high GWP fluorinated gases in the sector of commercial refrigeration based on the results of the demonstration. The project has also proposed, in the Italian context, an incentive scheme that could foster the substitution of outdated refrigeration systems that are responsible for the majority of the F-gas leakage.