Cold Link Africa September 2019 | Page 7

NEWS INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN ecsaReco in Cape Town is moving to new premises, and will in future be found at 33 Montague Drive, Montague Gardens, Cape Town. Watch this space! “We are heading into the final stage of our move, and everyone is excited and enthusiastic,” says Sebastiaan Muller, area manager Western Cape. The new premises have been renovated and the sign-off and hand over will happen soon. The plan is to start trading from the new premises in September, if everything goes according to plan. The new premises in Montague Gardens is well-situated and accessible from all areas including public transport. “This will hopefully bring more feet through our doors, which is good for business,” says Muller. CLA New home for TecsaReco in the Cape T TecsaReco in Cape Town is moving to new offices in Montague Gardens. Study shows low GWP refrigerant transition underway despite challenges A ccording to an international research and consulting firm, the global HVAC&R industry is making the steady shift towards low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. This is influenced by an evolving regulatory climate. The Fact.MR study estimates the low GWP refrigerants market at USD18-billion (R250-billion), thanks to the bullish growth of this market. KEY INFLUENCING FACTORS INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS HOLD BIGGEST SHARE Refrigerants are the workhorse of the HVAC&R industry and leading industry players are promoting the adoption of environmentally sound practices with the phase-out of some high GWP refrigerants. The exponentially growing HVACR industry is expected to remain the bedrock for the low GWP refrigerants market with a substantially high demand in refrigeration applications. The study finds that the refrigeration applications of low GWP refrigerants accounted for a massive 63% share in the low GWP refrigerants market revenue, equaling over USD11.4 billion (R158 billion) in 2018. As the adoption of environment-friendly alternatives to high GWP refrigerants is burgeoning in refrigeration applications, the study predicts that demand for low GWP refrigerants will continue to remain high in the foreseeable future. However, leading manufacturers in the low GWP refrigerants market are increasing their focus on burgeoning demand for low GWP refrigerants in various other applications including chillers. Top-tiered stakeholders in the low GWP refrigerants market, such as The Chemours Company and Daikin Industries, According to the study, penetration of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) continues to remain high despite growing research on its harmful impact on the environment. Taking into consideration the environmental impact of HFCs, regulations on its use have become stringent over the years. These factors are likely to provide an impetus to the growth of low GWP refrigerants market in the near future. An increasing number of developed as well as developing countries are implementing a regulatory framework that puts a check on the production and use of HCFs. Initiatives such as the Montreal Protocol, European Union’s F-gas regulations, and the US Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) programme have been successful in curtailing the use of HCFs in a range of applications. The ripple effect of these initiatives and regulations has bolstered the case for low GWP refrigerants. The low GWP market is growing steadily as global regulations add pressure to limit high GWP refrigerant usage. COLD LINK AFRICA • SEPTEMBER 2019 recently declared their strategies to capitalise on rapidly growing needs for low GWP refrigerants in chillers along with air-conditioning applications. CREATING LUCRATIVE OPPORTUNITIES The European Union has stringent environmental policies, and it is manifested in the rapidly plummeting availability of high GWP HFCs in the European region. According to the summary of HFC phase down in Europe released by the Environmental Protection Agency, the HFC phase down was modest during 2015-2017, however, very steel down was observed in 2018 as the average volume of HFC available on the European market reduced to 63% of the 2015 amount. Thereby, with the sharp decrease in HFC supply in 2018, there is potential for a significant refrigerant shortage in European markets. Leading players in the low GWP refrigerants market in Europe are aiming to capitalise on lucrative sales opportunities in the European Union by bolstering the production of low as well as ultra-low GWP refrigerants in the region. The study also provides futuristic overview of growth of the low GWP refrigerants market for the forecast period 2019-2027, by thoroughly assessing the salient market dynamics. The study projects that the low GWP refrigerants market will grow two times larger in terms of revenue to exceed USD38-billion (R528-billion) by the end of the assessment period. These insights are based on the ‘Low GWP Refrigerants Market’ report by Fact. MR. Download the full report on their website. CLA www.coldlinkafrica.co.za 7