ATMO Australia 2018: Live coverage highlights

As top representatives from the HVAC&R industry around the world descend on Sydney, the ATMOsphere Australia conference set the tone of an important week for discussing the future direction of the sector in Australia.

The third annual ATMOsphere Australia event took place in Sydney’s Luna Park. The event directly preceded ARBS 2018, the Air Conditioning, Refrigeration & Building Services Exhibition, which is being held in Sydney’s Darling Harbour on 8-10 May.

Click here to read the full feed. 

Below are some highlights of our live coverage. 

Technology Leadership Round Table

#ATMOAustralia kicked off with the Technology Leadership Round Table with #HeatcraftAustralia, #Mayekawa, #Scantec, #MHIAA, #Danfoss, #Advansor, #ArnegOceania and #Embraco on the stage to share their expertise in regards to market trends. #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/nKjCBaiSXV

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

“I believe one of the largest challenges at this time is creating market demand. We're here because we either believe, want to know more about, or see the opportunity for #natrefs” - Douglas Herkess, #Heatcraft #Australia #ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/fo5hpKiign

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

Policy Session

Key message from #ATMOAustralia's Policy Session was that hhasing down #HFCs in an int'l treaty context under the #MontrealProtocol provides regulatory certainty and gives businesses an incentive to invest in alternatives such as #natrefs #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/iJQXWzbzYX

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

“The phasedown of #HFCs in an international treaty provides regulatory certainty and gives business an incentive to invest. The industry is already moving towards lower #GWP substances” - Patrick McInerney, Australian Gov't Dep't of the #Environment#ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/b9EMjfV5VO

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

“I expect the increase in the propane #chargelimit for residential and light commercial applications to increase from 150g to 500g by 2019“ - Marek Zgliczynski, speaking on behalf of the International Electrotechnical Commission#ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/AFpCYfanyu

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

Future of the Industry End User Panel 

#ATMOAustralia's all-star Future of the Industry End User Panel, chaired by SkyNews TV's Jon Dee has #Costco, #AldiStores, #IGA, #ColesSupermarkets, #Woolworths and #Countdown on the stage! pic.twitter.com/5GwTUjtcIr

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"If you look at one of the simplest things that can create a real diff to their bottom line and their #sustainability impact, is to go with #NatRefs. The prospects for #NatRefs have never been better. Ppl are becoming more aware of the #HFC phasedown” - Jon Dee #ATMOAustralia pic.twitter.com/ZKogk6Xe5t

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

[Regarding their #transcritical systems] "Everybody told me its not possible. But here we are. Its only a question of aren’t you believing it?" - Marcus Meier, #Aldi Stores #ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/8hEGpLoMhT

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"That’s why we’ve gone w/ #NatRefs, not only because there is an endless abundance of it and reduces our environmental impact and we can now focus on running our business and not about changing refrigerants" - Petar Lujic, IGA Wentworth Point#ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/4tXPBwc40B

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"We’re satisfied with the trial at Coburg North and are now going into the pilot phase. We have 5 stores w/ CO2 transcritical in the process. 2 of 5 will be launched before Christmas" - Stuart Saville, Coles Supermarkets pic.twitter.com/qssyXJwuBk

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"The fact is we at Woolworths are actually living and breathing our #sustainability strategy. We’ve got a passionate leadership and engineering team" - Michael Englebright, #Woolworths #ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/fZka3qqmaK

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"Our goal is to go 100% #naturalrefrigerants eventually and we have a plan in place" - Greg Lewis, #Countdown#ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/OPpizIvPaH

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

Training Session

#ATMOAustralia's #Training Panel focused on up-skilling the trade for the transition to #NatRefs and had #ARA, #ARMA, #AIRAH, #ARC and #Danfoss on the stage. #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/3xisohntx4

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"Learn the right stuff developed by the people with the knowledge. That’s what we are saying" - Ian Tuena, Australian Refrigeration Association (ARA) #ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/mak5BnmMlP

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"iManifold Platform is used to track, store, and analyse data for industry. This is industry going into the 21st century" - Kim Limburg, Australian Refrigeration Mechanics Association (#ARMA)#ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/SN07mWXmSd

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"#AIRAH supports the industry to up-skill in many ways – in fact everything we do is about up-skilling the industry! I believe we can make a difference. That’s why i’m here" - Phil Wilkinson, Australian Institute of #Refrigeration Air Conditioning and #Heating#ATMOAustralia pic.twitter.com/rszodn2FbW

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"#ARC has also introduced a smart code. QR code on the card allows access to technical resources, realtime records, improving #safety and compliance" - Rod Cumming, Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) #ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/qwP1KA96bU

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"#Danfoss offers complete CO2 learning portfolio online, with webinars and training videos" - Nielsen Mads Holst Danfoss#ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/SB9mF2slyA

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"How do people want to learn? They want to read and learn, and then get hands on. That’s when the learning happens. Technicians like hands on #training" - Jatinder Masson, #Danfoss#ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/dxiagSgkZs

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

Technology Leadership Round Table

Key message from #ATMO Australia's technology case studies was that while there is no 'silver bullet’ natural refrigerant, they can usually be applied to the full spectrum of HVAC&R applications if every specific project and end user need is evaluated according to its own merits. pic.twitter.com/CdQ5E2NO6o

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

In the Australian and New Zealand markets, “investment in training is a must”. “Contractor application training is critical, but training end users on selling the benefits of using the technology is just as critical” - Brett Hedge, Heatcraft #ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/JXRVDAVh2j

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

“Once you go #ammonia, you’ll never go back!” - Stefan Jensen, #Scantec #ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/sYoDpzxovm

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"Plug N’ Cool uses a very low propane charge for each circuit (below 150g). It offers a safe and environmentally friendly alternative to centralised #supermarket #refrigeration systems"- Marek Zgliczynski, #Embraco#ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/sVZ6faESuu

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"With CUBO2 Smart we’ve made CO2 TC easy. We’ve reduced the #refrigerant charge and the unit is easy to install" - Inderpal Saund, #BeijerRef #ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/S5EhtwHOYO

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018

"We concluded that there is no silver bullet #refrigerant. Every specific project and end user needs to be weighed up on its own merits" - Jonathon Hare, Natural Refrigerants Company #ATMOAustralia #GoNatRefs pic.twitter.com/0uniW32xE7

— ATMOsphere (@ATMOEvents) May 7, 2018