Demonstration Report on Refrigerant Recycling in China’s Automotive Maintenance Industry
Business Area: Heating, Cooling & Buildings
Project:
Publication
Refrigerants and blowing agents in cooling appliances and foam products pose a significant global warming and ozone-depleting threat, with old stocks estimated to equate to 16-18 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions. Recognizing this, the Climate and Ozone Protection Alliance (COPA) conducted a pilot activity in Guangzhou, southern China, to estimate the potential for reducing HFC emissions through standardized recycling processes in the automotive repair industry. Led by the China Automotive Technology Research Center (CATARC) and implemented with the Harson Group, the pilot involved data collection and training at an automotive repair shop. HEAT GmbH developed a methodology for calculating emission baselines and assessing potential reductions across passenger cars in the Guangzhou metropolitan area under various mitigation scenarios. This report, part of the GIZ IKI initiative, presents the pilot results and highlights the potential for standardized refrigerant recovery to support China's carbon neutrality goals.