China will grant 70% of the funds for upgrading AC production line to R290 

During the conference, Mr Xu Haoyang from the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection of NDRC presented latest updates regarding the implementation of China’s HCFC phase-out management plan (HPMP) and the government’s future strategy. According to Mr Xu, 70% of the government’s funds for upgrading household AC production lines will be used for R290. The government encourages more air conditioner manufacturers to transform and modify their present production lines into R290.  Considering the insufficient supply of AC components from the upstream process, the government will also fund the modification of 3 to 4 compressor production lines into R290.

 

 

Mr Yang Yifan from the China Refrigeration Association (CRA) summarised the application situation of different refrigerants in China’s HVAC&R sector and put forward a diversified development strategy for the refrigerant replacement in China. According to CRA, as the situation of each industry is different, it is impossible to shift to one common refrigerant in different industries. However, the overall direction is towards the development of refrigerants with a low GWP value.  The government departments are more favourable to R290 for room air conditioners. In the household refrigerator field, China has basically completed the R600a substitution already. In the mobile air conditioning sector, there is a greater call to use CO₂ to replace R134a. In the industrial and commercial refrigeration field especially large-scale cold storage, CO₂ and ammonia are future alternatives.

 

 

Dr.Wang Yiren from Emerson Climate Technologies made a presentation to introduce Emerson’s R290, ammonia and CO₂ refrigeration and heating technologies and presented some case studies in Norway and the US. Emerson supports initiatives to apply alternate refrigerants especially R290, ammonia and CO₂ in an effort to mitigate the use of higher global warming potential refrigerants. Emerson has been involved in the selection and application of R290 propane compressors and condensing units. Propane compressors will be available in the Emerson AFE, ASE, RFT, and RST models and for its M line condensing units. According to Dr. Wang, R290 is a potential alternative to be one of the next-generation refrigerants in industrial refrigeration, which has both low Global Warming Potential (LGWP) and low Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP).

 

In June 2012 the “5th International Workshop on Energy-efficient Refrigeration and Air Conditioning” was held in Beijing, jointly organised by the China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) and China’s National Institute of Standardization (CNIS). 

 

Via the conference the Chinese government aims to identify and address technical and market barriers for energy-efficient refrigeration and air conditioning technologies and products.  In the conference, China launched the “White paper for the energy efficiency status of China energy-use products (2012)” and released the “New Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Consortium Standards”. The signing ceremony of the UNDP/GEF project “Promoting Energy Efficient Room Air Conditioners” was held during the conference as well.

 

In terms of refrigerant, officials from NDRC, SAC and China Refrigeration Association (CRA) made keynote speeches to introduce China’s national incentive policies and progress of refrigerant replacement. Companies including Carrier, Johnson Controls, Dorin, Gree, Highly and some other Chinese domestic companies shared their experiences on R290, ammonia and CO₂ technologies. International delegates from UNDP-GEF, CLASP from US, The Institute of Energy Economics Japan (IEEJ), Swedish Heat Pump Association, Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development De Montfort university of UK also shared experiences with the Chinese officials and industrial experts.