The International Institute of Refrigeration, IIR, said its sixth Ammonia and CO2 Refrigeration Technologies Conference clarified future uncertainties regarding both the Montreal and the Kyoto Protocols and environmental regulations applicable to natural refrigerants.

The conference, which was held April 16 – 18 in Ohrid, Macedonia, focused on natural refrigerants, specifically ammonia, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons used in various refrigeration applications worldwide.

IIR said conference participation increased, from approximately 100 individuals in the past to 140 participants this year, attracting a wide scope of key industry stakeholders, ranging from manufacturers, end users to research institutions.

In light of the intense debate on the F-Gas regulation and its implementation worldwide, as well as proposed amendments to the Montreal Protocol for the phase-down of HFCs, the conference provided the ideal forum for the exchange of knowledge on ammonia and CO2 technologies, and their combination, as the most viable option in future, IIR said in a statement.

IIAR Vice President and Technical Director, Eric Smith attended the event as one of five keynote speakers, delivering a speech entitled “Navigating the regulatory environment and opportunities for new technologies in the U.S.”

Smith gave a detailed overview of the regulatory climate in the United States, delivering a speech on the U.S. legislative process and outlining the ways the industrial refrigeration industry works to inform that process through standards development and other advocacy activities. He also gave an overview of opportunities for new technologies in the U.S.

In a region where ammonia was, and still is, a traditional refrigerant, the event provided the perfect opportunity to introduce CO2 as a refrigerant and focused on the greener alternatives represented by natural refrigerants, the advancing future of green technologies and the economic benefits of these technologies, the IIR said in a statement.

During the closing ceremony Professor Risto Ciconkov, president of the conference Organizing Committee, expanded on that idea, saying that “Instead of being occupied with a phasedown of HFC gases, drop-in refrigerants, retrofit of systems, environmental taxes, restrictions, calculations of F-gas quotas, let’s start with a new approach: a PHASE-IN of natural refrigerants.”