• Increase the uptake of training and certification on climate-friendly alternatives
• Accelerate the shift towards climate-friendly technologies and develop technical specifications for the use of non-fluorinated technologies using natural refrigerants
• Support an effective and timely achievement of the EU 2030 climate targets (for small supermarkets up to 1,000m²)
Cooling is an important factor in the worldwide effort against climate change. 1-2% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) stem from food retail, and stores selling food have a 50% higher energy usage than other commercial buildings. Refrigeration makes up to 30-50% of total energy in a store and therefore is a large contributor to a food retailer’s overall environmental impact.
The project consortium consists of eight partners from across Europe, bringing together organic retail associations, experts and technicians of the refrigeration sector and market developers: HEAT (project leader, Germany), shecco (Belgium), AgroBio - Associação Portuguesa de Agricultura Biológica (Portugal), BNN – Bundesverband Naturkost Naturwaren (Germany), SEAE - Sociedad Española de Agricultura Ecológica/Agroecología (Spain), BIV – Bundesinnungsverband des Deutschen Kälteanlagenbauerhandwerks (Germany), KNVvK - Koninklijke Nederlandse Vereniging voor Koude (The Netherlands) and STEK - Stichting Emissiepreventie Koudetechniek (The Netherlands).
Project activities started in June 2019 with a kick-off workshop in Germany and will continue until end of 2021. In its first phase, a market survey will give insight on the current as well as future situation and needs of RACHP end-users in the organic retail / small food retail sector. In a second step the project partners will develop a European stock model about RACHP technology and its related emissions.
If you are interested to know more about this project please visit the project website at www.refrigerantsnaturally.com
Contact:
Britta Pätzold, britta.paetzold@heat-international.de
The Ref, Nat! for LIFE project has received funding from the LIFE Programme of the European Union.