Nonprofit Report Demonstrates Food Retailer Demand for Natural Refrigerant Condensing Units

Survey Highlights Opportunity to Transition Existing Facilities to Climate-Friendly Refrigerants

Mill Valley, California — The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working in partnership with the supermarket industry to advance the use of climate-friendly natural refrigerants, has released a report summarizing US food retailer preferences for natural refrigerant-based condensing unit technologies.

“The most significant takeaway from the report is that it demonstrates a strong demand for natural refrigerant-based condensing unit technologies in the US, with 100 percent of participating retailers indicating interest,” comments Danielle Wright, executive director of North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council.

NASRC conducted a survey of 13 major food retailers representing more than 17,000 US locations to characterize retailer demand for natural refrigerant-based condensing units. The report summarizes retailer preferences for CO2-and-propane-based condensing unit product applications, load type and corresponding capacity ranges (MBTUs), condensing medium, as well as other considerations and requirements.

Another key finding is the potential for existing stores, with almost 80% of retailers surveyed were interested in condensing unit applications for existing stores. The majority indicated a preference for CO2-based condensing units to serve medium temperature refrigerated display cases.

“The real challenge is how to accelerate emissions reduction in the 38,000 stores that exist today,” said Danielle Wright, NASRC executive director. “We need solutions that can be phased in as part of the normal equipment replacement schedule and serve the refrigeration capacity expansion that is happening across the food retail sector today due to the rise in online shopping.”

Food retailers are facing increasing regulatory pressures at the international, federal, and state levels to transition to climate-friendly natural refrigerants, including ammonia, CO2, and propane. Today, the vast majority of stores are using hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants, which are considered super greenhouse gases and have thousands of times more global warming potential (GWP) than natural refrigerants. Transitioning away from harmful HFCs to natural refrigerants is not so simple as it requires replacing the entire refrigeration system, which is unfeasible from a cost and, many times, technical perspective. Retailers need cost-effective, modular technology options that allow them to migrate their refrigeration loads and displace the existing system over time.

Natural refrigerant-based condensing units, using Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Propane, are an ideal option due to their ability to serve unique load types and reduce overall GWP of the system. Despite increasing interest from food retailers, very few product options are available in the US market compared to Europe and Asia.

“Ultimately, our goal is to bring more natural refrigerant product solutions to the US market,” said Wright. “This report was the first step in bridging the information gap by leveraging our strong network of stakeholders.”

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About North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council

The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to advance climate-friendly natural refrigerants in supermarkets. The organization works with stakeholders from across the supermarket refrigeration industry, including over 28,000 food retail locations in the US, to eliminate the barriers preventing the adoption of natural refrigerants. For additional information, please visit www.nasrc.org.

Remco Joins NASRC, Accelerating Natural Refrigerant Training for Technicians

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania — Remco Inc., a commercial HVAC and refrigeration installation and service provider, has joined the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) at the silver level. The NASRC is an action-oriented 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to creating a climate-friendly future for supermarket refrigeration through natural refrigerants.

A growing number of supermarkets seeking to operate more sustainably and navigate new refrigerant regulations are beginning to look to climate-friendly natural refrigerants - including ammonia, CO2, and hydrocarbons - as an important part of the solution. However, due to a unique set of market barriers, natural refrigerant adoption in US supermarkets has not yet scaled.

Due to the low adoption rate, there have been limited natural refrigerant training opportunities for contractors, which in turn has created uncertainty for some supermarkets considering natural refrigerants. In addition, a shrinking technician workforce has exacerbated the service readiness challenges.

“For contractors who are already stretched thin, it can be difficult to justify investing in natural refrigerant training if their customers aren’t moving in that direction. This has led to gaps in training resources. As the demand for natural refrigerants increases, it’s important to fill those gaps and prevent training from becoming a bottleneck for scaled adoption,” said Morgan Smith, NASRC manager of programs & operations.

And that demand is already increasing. According to Remco, their technicians are encountering natural refrigerants with increasing frequency.

“We are seeing everything from booster and cascade CO2 systems to micro-distributed systems employing hydrocarbon refrigerants,” said Carl Hollomon, service manager of Remco’s Richmond branch. “So we understand the importance of educating our technicians to ensure they have the knowledge and tools available to them to safely troubleshoot and repair the multitude of systems they may encounter in the field. Remco has a dedicated staff of full-time trainers and a fully operational mock supermarket at our Mechanicsburg, PA training facility that allows us to give hands on training to all of our upcoming service and installation technicians. Even still the ongoing pandemic has posed a new set of challenges when it comes to training for alternative natural refrigerants, where we used to rely heavily on OEMs, our focus has shifted to adopting a curriculum that can be used in-house to educate our technicians, and that’s where we see a major benefit in partnering with NASRC.” 

Together with the industry, NASRC is working to remove the barriers preventing the widescale adoption of natural refrigerants in supermarkets, including service readiness, upfront costs, and data gaps. Remco’s participation in the NASRC membership network will bolster the organization’s efforts to address workforce development gaps that have slowed the adoption of natural refrigerants.

“Remco is committed to providing sustainable and environmentally conscious services by adopting new technology and practices across all aspects of our business,” said Bryan Purdy, Remco’s Pittsburgh branch manager. “Change is coming whether we like it or not, and it’s our obligation as a service provider to make sure our technicians are adequately trained and prepared for the future of refrigeration. The resources that become available to us by joining NASRC will allow us to stay ahead of the curve in making sure we can meet the everchanging demands of the refrigeration industry. We feel that joining NASRC allows us to be a part of a collaborative effort that will help us raise awareness and provide sustainable cost-effective solutions to our entire customer base with the common goal of a better tomorrow for all.”

“The service readiness challenges are multifaceted, and we need all-hands on deck to ensure that current and future generations of technicians are trained in the installation and maintenance of natural refrigerant equipment,” said Smith. “Remco has positioned themselves at the forefront of this effort, and we look forward to leveraging their expertise to drive progress for the industry.”

NASRC’s membership network represents more than 38,000 US food retail locations and stakeholders from virtually every sector of the commercial refrigeration industry, including service contractors, manufacturers and suppliers, consultants, engineering firms, trade associations, distributors, and nonprofits.

More information about Remco Inc. can be found here: https://www.remcopa.com.

NASRC Launches FREE Natural Refrigerant Technology Library

For a limited time, access free on-demand presentations highlighting the latest natural refrigerant technologies for supermarket and food retail applications! The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) - a 501c3 nonprofit collaborating with the supermarket industry to advance the adoption of natural refrigerants - has launched a first-of-its-kind library of on-demand presentations showcasing natural refrigerant technology solutions for both new and existing supermarket facilities.

Due to the high global warming potential (GWP) of traditional hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants (HFCs), supermarkets are facing growing regulatory pressures to transition to low-GWP refrigerant technologies.

Natural refrigerants, including ammonia, hydrocarbons, and carbon dioxide, are simultaneously the most climate-friendly solution and the most effective way for supermarkets to achieve regulatory compliance. But high upfront costs and other market barriers have prevented their widespread adoption, contributing to uncertainty around the low-GWP technologies that will best meet the needs of each supermarket.

“We heard from our retailer members that there was a lack of information on viable natural refrigerant technology options,” said Danielle Wright, NASRC executive director. “Retailers need to fully understand the benefits and trade-offs of each technology option in order to make sound decisions and effectively navigate increasing refrigerant regulations.”

To address this challenge, NASRC hosted a webinar series in which NASRC members presented on the latest natural refrigerant technology offerings. Presentations focused on options for existing stores, which are especially challenging as they require a costly full or partial system replacement to allow for the use of natural refrigerants. For a limited time, NASRC has made all webinar recordings available on-demand for free in a new Natural Refrigerant Technology Library.

“Our goal with this series was to help supermarkets and their partners learn about natural refrigerant technologies that meet their needs in both new and existing stores,” said Wright. “This information is also critical for policymakers and utilities to make informed decisions that will shape energy and refrigerant regulations.”

View the recordings now to learn about the latest natural refrigerant technology solutions for supermarkets.

NASRC is supported by over 24,000 US supermarket locations and more than 130 organizations representing all sectors of the commercial refrigeration industry. Learn more at their website here: www.nasrc.org.