Australia's Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEW) has opened a public consultation period on policy options to reduce the use of high global warming potential refrigerants in commercial refrigeration.
DCCEW's policy recommendations are aimed at the continued use of R404A refrigerant(R404a refrigerant is a mixture of 44% R125, 4% R134a, and 52% 143a) in commercial refrigeration. The company said transport refrigeration issues would be resolved "at a later stage".
DCCEW said, "Consumption of R404A refrigerant increased from 834 tons as of 2020 to 880 tons in 2021."
R404A refrigerant imports increased as a percentage of Australia's total HCFC and HFC imports from 12.6% in 2016 to 16.3% in 2021, with medium-sized commercial refrigeration units such as condensing units and small racks helping to drive demand.
According to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report released in 2021, R404A refrigerant has a 100-year global warming potential of 4728 and a 20-year global warming potential of 7208.
Equipment global warming potential limits: DCCEW proposes global warming potential limits for refrigeration equipment as a way to indirectly curb the use of R404A.
Self-contained and plug-in commercial equipment: DCCEW recommends a GWP limit of 150 for this new category of equipment, which includes, in addition to refrigerated cabinets, ice machines, beverage coolers, self-contained blast coolers and refrigerated food cabinets. It states that hydrocarbons are the primary refrigerant in small self-contained equipment.
Medium-sized commercial refrigeration: Equipment in this field mainly uses R404A, including slide-in/embedded stand-alone refrigeration units, coolers and condensing units. The DCCEW recommends a GWP limit of 1500 "for most new equipment and condensing units of this type" and a GWP limit of 2500 for new equipment cooled to −20°C (−4°F) or below, ultimately will be reduced to 1500.
Large commercial refrigeration: It is recommended that new equipment have a GWP limit of 150, and primary refrigerants used in cascade systems have a higher GWP limit of 1,500. DCCEW broadly defines this equipment type as the refrigeration systems used in large supermarkets.
Process and industrial refrigeration: DCCEW states that this category of equipment primarily uses refrigerants other than HFCs, primarily ammonia R717 and carbon dioxide R744, and does not establish policy options for this purpose.
Import ban, reuse restrictions: Direct measures proposed by DCCEW against R404A include banning new imports of R404A or restricting HFCs to only serve existing equipment.
DCCEW also recommends controls on the use of recycled R404A to encourage end-users to replace old equipment; it also recommends exemptions from import bans and reuse controls, and seeks feedback on equipment that should be eligible for exemptions and the conditions and circumstances that would be suitable for exemptions.
DCCEW calls Australia's current demand for R404A "unsustainable".
