Press release: ATMO Europe Set to Cover Natural Refrigerant Projects and Trends

Presenters include prominent OEMs and manufacturers, leading end users and government officials.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (November 4, 2024) – ATMOsphere, the publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com, has shared more details of the program for the ATMOsphere (ATMO) Europe Summit 2024 with sessions on refrigeration, heat pumps, mobile air-conditioning and transport refrigeration case studies, end-user experiences, market trends, investment opportunities, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and the EU’s revised F-gas Regulation.

The 14^th annual edition of ATMO Europe will be held Monday and Tuesday, November 25 and 26, at Prague’s Congress Centre. Attending will be key industry experts, including manufacturers, policymakers, end users and installers.

You can now register for the event here. End users can register for free, and contractors/installers of HVAC&R systems are eligible to receive one free ticket per organization and a 50% discount on additional tickets. Members of governments and the press can also register for free, and NGOs are entitled to one free ticket per organization. The full program can be viewed here.

The Platinum sponsor of ATMO Europe 2024 is Triton Partners. Gold sponsors are TEKO, Zudek and Copeland. Information on sponsorships can be found here.

Case studies

A wide range of refrigeration case studies involving CO₂ (R744), propane (R290) and ammonia (R717) refrigerants will be presented. Presenters include:

• CO₂: Copeland, COOP and Omega Solutions (presenting jointly); Energy Recovery, Modine, Pecomark and Fieuw (presenting jointly); Biaggini Frigoriferi, Dorin and Migros (presenting jointly); Keep It Cool Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning and Panasonic (presenting jointly); and TEKO Refrigeration
• Propane: Embraco and Novum (presenting jointly)
• Ammonia: J&E Hall

Heat pump case studies will be presented in three separate sessions. Presenting companies include:

• HVAC and other applications: Advansor and Mandal Kjøleservice (presenting jointly), Secon and Mirai Intex (presenting jointly), TEKO, Zudek and Refra
• District heating: Güntner and Exodraft (presenting jointly), Dutek and Unica Energy Solutions (presenting jointly), Fenagy, GEA and MAN Energy Solutions.
• Heat pumps for industrial and specialized solutions: Carrier and ebtech (presenting jointly), HB Products and Exodraft Energy (presenting jointly), Zudek and Euroklimat

There will also be a panel dedicated to transportation refrigeration and mobile air-conditioning. Aurora Netherlands and GIZ will share case studies on R290-based thermal management systems in electric buses and marine-based transportation refrigeration units, respectively. Ecooltec and Ferdinand Bierbichler will present jointly on the use of hydrocarbons and CO₂ in transportation refrigeration units.

Investor, end users and market trend panels

Private equity firm Triton Partners will discuss its natural refrigerant fund, acquisition strategy and ESG considerations, among other topics. Representatives from acquired manufacturing and contractor companies Kelvion and bluu unit will also discuss how their acquisitions by Triton have influenced their businesses.

Speakers on the investor panel include:

• Triton: Friedrich Ysenburg, Investment Professional
• Triton: Ted Amyuni, Senior Industry Expert
• bluu unit: Frank Jansing, CEO
• Kelvion: Timo Kivilaht, SVP of the Global Solutions Engineers

End users Nestlé, METRO and Ferdinand Bierbichler will share their experiences working with natural refrigerant-based technologies, including the challenges they’ve had to overcome and the benefits brought by these systems.

Speakers on the end users panel include:

• Nestlé: Vincent Grass, Global Refrigeration Leader, Corporate Operations – Engineering Services
• METRO: Olaf Schulze, Director Energy Management/Real Estate Sustainability
• Ferdinand Bierbichler: Managing Director

There will also be a panel dedicated to refrigeration market trends featuring Andreas Meier, Managing Director of TEKO; Ivan Zudek, Partner at Zudek; and Olivier Liégeois, Marketing Director at Copeland.

PFAS, f-gas policy discussions

ATMO Europe will touch on the link between PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” and f-gas refrigerants. Professor Michael Kauffeld of the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences will deliver a keynote address on his research quantifying PFAS in HVAC components and materials as well as how other industries have moved to PFAS-free alternatives.

There will also be a PFAS panel focused on the impact of HFOs and their degradation product, TFA (trifluoroacetic acid), on health, safety and the environment. Speakers include Christine Lützenkdorf, Program Manager Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases at Deutsche Umwelthilfe; Cinzia Verzeletti, Senior Campaigner at ATMOsphere; and Jonatan Kleimark, Head of Corporate Sustainability at ChemSec.

Developments with, and the implementation of, the EU F-gas Regulation will be the topic of another panel, with speakers including Arno Kaschl, Senior Policy Officer at the European Commission’s DG CLIMA; Jana Mašíčková, Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic; and Clare Perry, Climate Campaign Leader at the EIA.

At the end of day one, the conference will hold the ATMO Awards/Europe ceremony recognizing companies and individuals leading the transition to natural refrigerant-based technologies.

About ATMOsphere

For the past 20 years, market accelerator ATMOsphere (formerly shecco) has been active in helping bring climate-friendly technologies faster to market. ATMOsphere supports over 100 partners worldwide in the HVAC&R sector, where the focus is on sustainable refrigeration, heating & cooling technologies using natural refrigerants. 

Contacts:

Marc Chasserot
marc.chasserot@shecco.com

Charlotte Darniche
charlotte.darniche@shecco.com