Creating Cooling With No Impact on Global Warming
Key Points

Creating Cooling With No Impact on Global Warming
Key Points

The corresponding table gives us an excellent sense of the impact that refrigerants can have on our environment. Despite the efforts of many organizations fighting climate change worldwide, many of these refrigerants remain in use. Regarding human safety, the column representing asphyxiant types is particularly troublesome.
Essentially, all the commonly used low-GWP refrigerants have the potential to expose technicians and cold storage staff to the possibility of asphyxiation. Use of these refrigerants requires safety goggles and gloves along with proper respiratory protection. R-718 (water) is the only refrigerant that does not expose technicians to harmful gases, and it is easy to retrofit into existing systems.
Existing low-GWP cooling systems use carbon dioxide (CO2), ammonia, butane / isobutane, or propane. These have safety issues due to potential leaks. While hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) can serve as low-GWP refrigerant substitutes, their degradation produces and releases trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in the atmosphere, which is problematic and dramatically increases their effective GWP.
CleanCold’s natural refrigerant process with vacuum-driven vaporization of water (R-718) provides high cooling performance without safety or climate-impact issues.

With conservative market penetration into the commercial refrigeration market, the CleanCold cooling process can reduce CO2 emissions by 2,433 to 7,244 MMTs (the exact number depends on estimated refrigerant leakage from current cooling systems).
Fulfilling the Promise of CleanCold’s Technology
If you have the opportunity to support the development of a non-hydrofluorocarbon / hydrocarbon-based (HFC / HC) refrigeration / cooling system with a global warming potential of zero, would you take it? In today’s era of significant climate change and the harmful effects of global warming, such a system is essential.
The U.S. EPA has initiated a phasedown of HFCs under several federal rulings such as the American Innovation & Manufacturing (AIM) Act that directs the EPA to reduce production and consumption of HFC refrigerant gases in the country by 85% over the next 15 years. However, simply making refrigeration / cooling systems that leak less HFC gasses or transitioning to less environmentally damaging gases such as butane, propane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide still leaves a large gap in the required reductions of these emissions and thus does not appear to be a truly viable alternative.
Recent estimates peg the value of the commercial and industrial cooling and refrigeration markets at $45.5 billion and $119.8 billion, respectively. The value of the residential refrigeration market stood at around $88.74 billion in 2022. Since the combination of an efficient refrigeration process with a zero GWP material is a strong market driver, and coupled with the large market sizes for commercial and industrial refrigeration, the revenue potential for systems employing the CleanCold process is significant.
It is possible to utilize CleanCold’s technology beyond commercial refrigeration systems, as it can be applied to air conditioning, cold transport, and medical devices.
References
- Commercial Refrigeration Market by Product Type, Refrigerant Type (HCFCs, HFCs, HFO, Isobutane, Propane, Ammonia, Carbon Dioxide), Application, End Use (Supermarkets & Hypermarkets, Hotels & Restaurants, Bakeries), & Region – Global Forecast to 2028.
https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/commercial-refrigeration-market-189269432.html - Cold Storage Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Storage Type (Facilities/Services, Equipment), By Temperature Range (Chilled, Frozen), By Application, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2024 – 2030.
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/cold-storage-market - Household Refrigerators And Freezers Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Capacity (Less Than 15 cu. Ft., 15 to 30 cu. Ft.), By Structure (Built-in, Freestanding), By Door Type (Single Door, Double Door), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 – 2030.
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/household-refrigerators-freezers-market

