Petition for Technology Transitions under AIM Act Consistent with Restoring U.S. Climate Ambition

Administrator Michael Regan U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004

Cc:

Ms. Cindy Newberg Mr. Chris Grundler Mr. Joseph Goffman

Petition for Technology Transitions under AIM Act Consistent with Restoring U.S. Climate Ambition

Dear Administrator Regan, The International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration (IIAR) and co-petitioners submit this petition on technology transitions under subsection (i) of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act).

IIAR is a non-profit association that is considered a professional society as well as a trade association. We represent over 3000 members who are end-users, manufacturers, contractors, consultants, academics, and others in the industrial and commercial refrigeration industry. These members are instrumental to the supply and preservation of our nation’s food and beverage resources. Most of our members utilize natural refrigerants such as ammonia, carbon dioxide, propane, air, and water in their refrigeration systems that they manufacture, design, install, or use for facility operations. Many of our members are on the forefront of developing state of the art equipment and systems focused on reducing negative environmental impacts. Our Vision is to create a better world through the safe and sustainable use of natural refrigerants. Our Mission is to provide advocacy, education, and standards for the benefit of the global community in the safe and sustainable design, installation, and operation of ammonia and other natural refrigerant systems.

IIAR has been an ANSI accredited standards developer since the 1970’s. Our standards are recognized by the national code bodies and are directly referenced in the International and Uniform Mechanical Codes, Fire Codes, NFPA Codes and various other state codes. IIAR standards are also considered “recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices” by federal and state regulatory agencies charged with enforcing environmental and labor rules (OSHA, EPA, and others).

IIAR requests and petitions that that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) utilize its authority under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act to restrict the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) within the refrigeration sector as noted in Table I – IIAR below.

Because of our association’s background and particular expertise, our petition focuses on the Refrigeration Sector. We support ambitious actions to reduce the use of HFCs within all the sectors of HFC applications, however other expertise exists who can better petition for recommended restrictions within the air-conditioning sector.

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In the past year, IIAR supported the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in development of their recently approved HFC reduction regulation. IIAR believes that California’s framework for HFC phase down can serve as a good model for EPA’s implementation of the AIM Act, as already noted by other petitioners to the EPA. However, IIAR petitions to go further regarding Chillers for Industrial Refrigeration.

Note that Table I – IIAR mirrors the CARB regulation limits and dates by End-Use/Subsector except for Chillers, and in particular Chillers for Industrial Process Refrigeration, where IIAR petitions that the limit of 150 GWP be applied to this end-use with an effective date of January 2026. The CARB regulations are shown for reference only in Table II – CARB. Requested Use Restrictions Subsection (i) of the AIM Act on “Technology Transitions” authorizes EPA to “restrict, fully, partially, or on a graduated schedule, the use of a regulated substance in the sector or subsector in which the regulated substance is used.”

IIAR requests that EPA partially restricts using refrigerants equal to or greater than 150 GWP for all Refrigeration Sector End-Use/Subsectors noted in Table 1 – IIAR below. This partial restriction would apply to refrigerants used in “new” equipment, which includes a replacement of an existing refrigeration system as defined in the CARB Proposed Regulation Order under the definitions for “New Chiller “and “New Refrigeration Equipment”.1 IIAR strongly believes that the technology exists, and has for decades, in the design and manufacturing of Chillers for Industrial Process Refrigeration using natural refrigerants for all temperature ranges. The use of natural refrigerants including CO2, Ammonia, and Hydrocarbons will significantly and positively impact global warming reduction goals using refrigerants with ultra-low refrigerant GWP values and increased operational energy efficiency of these refrigeration systems.

We recommend that the Effective Date for the Chillers for Industrial Process Refrigeration restriction recommended by IIAR be January 1, 2026, to provide manufacturers, contractors, and owners the time to meet the needs created by this excellent single step approach.

Table 1 – IIAR: IIAR Requested Restrictions in the Refrigeration Sector End-Use/Subsector New/Retrofit Prohibited Refrigerant GWP Retail Food Refrigeration New 150 or greater (>50lbs refrigerant) Cold Storage Warehouses New 150 or greater (>50lbs refrigerant) Ice Rinks New 150 or greater (>50lbs refrigerant) Industrial Process Refrigeration New 150 or greater excluding Chillers (>50lbs refrigerant) Other refrigeration (>50lbs New 150 or greater refrigerant)

1

Effective Date Prohibited as of January 1, 2022 Prohibited as of January 1, 2022 Prohibited as of January 1, 2024 Prohibited as of January 1, 2022 Prohibited as of January 1, 2022

For refrigeration equipment, CARB’s rulemaking distinguishes between New Facilities and Existing Facilities, however, the definition of a “New Facility” includes existing facilities with a replacement of 75% or more of evaporators and 100% of compressor racks and condensers. For further information see CARB Proposed Rulemaking Order, October 2020.

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Chillers for Industrial Process Refrigeration (>50 lbs)

New

150 or greater

January 1, 2026

Table II – CARB: CARB Restrictions in new Facilities within the Refrigeration Sector – For reference Only End-Use/Subsector New/Retrofit Prohibited Effective Date Refrigerant GWP Retail Food Refrigeration New 150 or greater Prohibited as of January (>50lbs refrigerant) 1, 2022 Cold Storage Warehouses New 150 or greater Prohibited as of January (>50lbs refrigerant) 1, 2022 Ice Rinks New 150 or greater Prohibited as of January (>50lbs refrigerant) 1, 2024 Industrial Process Refrigeration New 150 or greater Prohibited as of January excluding Chillers (>50lbs 1, 2022 refrigerant) Other refrigeration (>50lbs New 150 or greater Prohibited as of January refrigerant) 1, 2022 *Chillers – Air Conditioning, New 750 or greater Prohibited as of January Industrial Process Refrigeration 1, 2024 (designed for a chilled fluid leaving the evaporator at temperatures > +35° F *Chillers – Industrial Process New 1500 or greater Prohibited as of January Refrigeration (designed for a 1, 2024 chilled fluid leaving the evaporator at temperatures <= +35 and > -10°F) *Chillers – Industrial Process New 2,200 or greater Prohibited as of January Refrigeration (designed for a 1, 2024 chilled fluid leaving the evaporator at temperatures <= 10°F and > -58°F) The detailed CARB study and reports available provide a clear reasoning for creating a GWP limit of 150 for refrigerants used in Supermarkets (> 50 lbs. refrigerant charge), Cold Storage Warehouses, Industrial Process Refrigeration (excluding Chillers), Other Stationary Refrigeration Equipment (> 50 lbs. refrigerant charge), and Ice Rinks, for which IIAR will not repeat in this petition and supports entirely.

Below, under Factors for Rulemaking & Determination, IIAR describes why a change to require the use of refrigerants under 150 GWP for all Chillers for Industrial Process Refrigeration is possible, practical, and will greatly support the overall HFC reduction objectives of the AIM Act. In addition, making such a National Standard will simplify adoptions of regulations, regardless of the location of the business. Therefore, manufacturers and installers will not need to develop and maintain different practices for states that may be in the process of adopting regulations like CARB’s, considering that IIAR’s petition not only meets but exceeds the requirements set by CARB’s regulations.

Other Rulemaking Proposals Definitions

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IIAR recommends that the following definitions be adopted by the EPA in their rule-making process for use in written and verbal discussions by all interested stakeholders.

• High GWP refrigerants: >/= (greater than or equal to) 150 GWP • Low GWP refrigerants: < (less than) 150 GWP • Ultra-Low GWP refrigerants: < (less than) 10 GWP • Industrial Process Refrigeration Chiller: A complex customized appliance used to cool process streams that are directly linked to the processes used in, for example, the chemical, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, and manufacturing industries. This also includes appliances used directly in the generation of electricity, ice, and ice rinks, and for large scale cooling of heat sources such as data centers and data servers. Where one appliance is used for both industrial process refrigeration and other applications, it will be considered an industrial process refrigeration application if 50 percent or more of its operating capacity is used for industrial process refrigeration.

Use of these definitions would maintain communications continuity and clarity and align with the CARB & EPA rules and definitions.

Factors for Rulemaking & Determination In carrying out a rulemaking or making a determination to grant or deny a petition under subsection (i), the AIM Act requires EPA consider, to the extent practicable, the following factors: (A) the best available data.

(B) the availability of substitutes for use of the regulated substance that is the subject of the rulemaking or petition, as applicable, in a sector or subsector, taking into account technological achievability, commercial demands, affordability for residential and small business consumers, safety, consumer costs, building codes, appliance efficiency standards, contractor training costs, and other relevant factors, including the quantities of regulated substances available from reclaiming, prior production, or prior import; (C) overall economic costs and environmental impacts, as compared to historical trends; and (D) the remaining phase-down period for regulated substances under the final rule issued under subsection (e)(3), if applicable.

As noted in other petitions to the EPA, the information gathered during the multi-year rulemaking process in California represents some of the best available data on the various factors for determination.

The aforementioned CARB study data resulted in a strong conclusion that substitute refrigerants under 150 GWP and systems using them are in existence today and have been for decades. The refrigerants can meet commercial and industrial demands, are affordable, are available in almost unlimited quantities, and have minimal environmental impact.

The use of ultra-low GWP natural refrigerants is supported by expert trade associations such as ASTI (Ammonia Safety Training Institute) founded in 1987, RETA (Refrigerating Engineers and Technicians Association) founded in 1909, the Industrial Refrigeration Consortium – a University of Wisconsin and Corporation collaboration, and IIAR, founded in 1971, through developed and published standards, guidelines, training programs, and technical support. Equipment manufacturers in the natural refrigerants industry are also capable of providing the equipment and the technical support needed for sector support.

The CARB rulemaking requires new Supermarkets (> 50 lbs refrigerant charge), Cold Storage Warehouses, Industrial Process Refrigeration (excluding Chillers), Other Stationary Refrigeration Equipment (> 50 lbs refrigerant charge), and Ice Rinks to use refrigerants less than 150 GWP. For these exact same reasons, the EPA should choose to also require that all new Chillers for Industrial Process Refrigeration use a refrigerant less than 150 GWP, or what we would term a low-GWP

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refrigerant. We also note that certain HFOs would meet these proposed criteria, providing opportunity for synthetic refrigerant manufacturers to help meet the goals of reducing global warming gas emissions, too.

In addition to the CARB data and reasoning for choosing low-GWP refrigerants, IIAR respectively notes the following factors for consideration: 1. Chillers for Ice Rinks have a similar design and technology to Chillers for Industrial Process - Most ice rink freezing is conducted using a secondary fluid that is cooled by refrigerant confined in a utility room chiller. Since such chillers can be, and the majority are, supplied using less than 10 GWP refrigerants, such chillers can be and are easily used for all other types of Industrial Process Refrigeration.

2. No prohibitions for use of natural (low GWP) refrigerants – National codes permit the use of Ultra-Low GWP refrigerants, such as ammonia, CO2, and hydrocarbons, for any occupancy classification when the refrigerant is confined to a utility or machinery room or when the chiller is placed outside. Most Industrial Process Refrigeration chillers are located either in a machinery room or outside minimizing concern for exposure to the public. While codes and standards permit unlimited quantities of any refrigerant in industrial occupancies, commercial occupancies limit the use of more hazardous refrigerants in areas occupied by the public. Commercial occupancies are well served with CO2, which is an A1 non-toxic and non-flammable ultra-low GWP refrigerant.

3. Wide temperature range for application – Ultra-Low GWP refrigerants including ammonia and CO2 can be used for a wide temperature range application from comfort cooling airconditioning temperatures to much lower temperatures down to -70 degrees Fahrenheit. Some hydrocarbons, such as Ethane (R170), can be used at even lower temperatures, down to and below -80 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Fully developed design and operational standards and guidelines - Because there are established and recognized design standards, operational guidelines, and training programs available today for natural refrigerants, natural refrigerant equipment and systems can be safely and efficiently designed and operated. Refrigerant losses from industrial chiller equipment are extremely low. Furthermore, there are established requirements for detection of ammonia, CO2, and hydrocarbons in the event of a leak. Additionally, ammonia has the distinct advantage of a strong odor that is noticed at very low non-harmful concentrations. This gives qualified personnel the opportunity to address any problems in a timely manner.

5. Wide availability - Ultra-low GWP natural refrigerants are available in nearly unlimited quantities because they are used in many other applications. Indeed, most of their use is not for refrigeration. Thus, they are non-patented commodities that are easily accessible and are available at a low cost to the consumer as compared to HFC and other synthetic refrigerants.

6. Sustainability - For more than 100 years many of these natural refrigerants have been applied, with no harmful long term environmental effects.

7. Major impact for HFC reduction - CARB’s Refrigerant Management Program data show that more than 50% of registered IPR facilities use HFCs in the chiller equipment. Requiring their replacement using a less than 150 GWP refrigerant will make a significant impact on meeting the HFC reduction mandates.

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8. Technologically feasible – there are many long-time suppliers of industrial chillers designed using ultra low GWP (<10) refrigerants.

9. Vast & accessible knowledge and training sources –ASTI (Ammonia Safety & Training Institute), IRC (Industrial Refrigeration Consortium/Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison), RETA (Refrigerating Engineers and Technicians Association) and IIAR, have a large variety of online and in-person training courses centered in industrial refrigeration using ammonia, CO2, and other natural refrigerants. These courses address design standards, operational guidelines, maintenance procedures, management of change procedure, mechanical integrity, refrigeration management, hazard assessment and emergency and response. One could argue that no other group of refrigerants have such specific and detailed standards, guidelines, and training. Such programs are often attended by EPA and OSHA employees.

10. No unknown risks – because the use of natural refrigerants has existed for decades if not centuries and these natural chemicals are used for many other applications, there is little unknown about their use and long-term environmental effects on the stratospheric layer, waterways, and groundwater. This single factor alone makes their increased use as a refrigerant a preferred choice for environment risk avoidance.

11. Short Term hazards versus Long Term effects – All chemicals pose a danger; one can drown in water which is essential for life. Nitrogen, as part of the air we breathe, can suffocate an individual. Hydrocarbons are piped into our houses and under our seats in cars and ignited for combustion generating heat and power for motion. Ammonia and CO2, two of the more prevalently used ultra-low GWP refrigerants (<10), also have potential dangers. CO2 can displace the oxygen in a room causing hypoxia. A concentration of 3% will cause discomfort and breathing difficulties, and a concentration of 10% can be fatal. Ammonia flammability risk is very low. It is classified in the ‘2L’ safety group indicating its low flammability. This is the same as many of the new HFO synthetic refrigerants that are being used in large quantities due to their low GWP values. Ammonia is toxic, considered a ‘B’ in the safety group. However, due to the recognized and existing standards, guidelines, and training leaks are usually and successfully prevented. Should an ammonia release occur, there are reliable safety measures that can be implemented to ensure an early action is taken by qualified personnel. This is not the case for any of the other synthetic refrigerants for which, due to lack of odor and no routine mechanical integrity requirements, a release usually goes unnoticed. Furthermore, we generally accept the potential dangers of natural gas in our homes, as well as gasoline in our cars because of the many existing safeguards and standards; as well as their long-term use with minimal short-term hazards.

The same logic can and should be applied to the use of the natural refrigerants. Furthermore, the long-term environmental effects of the prolonged use of natural refrigerants are known to be minimal, if any.

12. Risk Mitigation – In the past decade, many improvements have been made in the use and design of chillers using natural refrigerants. The application of new technology heat exchangers, modular packaging, and direct expansion and other refrigerant cycle modifications have greatly reduced the refrigerant amount in equipment - down to 0.4 - 2 lbs. of refrigerant for each Ton of Refrigeration. Most chillers using natural refrigerants are designed using steel tubing and piping.

The required standards, the available training, and the prevention guidelines greatly reduce the chance of a leak. The greatly reduced refrigerant charge significantly reduces the maximum chemical release potential, and therefore its associated risk. The detailed emergency response information and training available allows for the industry to “stop them small.” And the longterm effects of any release are minimal if any. In conclusion, the risk mitigation process is already established for ultra-low GWP Chillers for industrial process applications.

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13. Energy – for industrial and commercial refrigeration, the temperature range of the application, the outside ambient temperatures, and the system design all play a factor in determining the energy efficiency (electricity use) of the chiller. Although IIAR cannot certainly determine that 100% of systems and chillers that utilize natural refrigerants will use less electricity, we can confidently state that, in general, ammonia chillers often surpass their counterparts in energy efficiency using much less electricity to produce the same amount of cooling. Historically, HFC chillers gained a foothold over natural refrigerant chillers because HFC refrigerants were believed to be safe – not toxic, and not flammable. However, this short term “safe” decision has led to a long-term impact on the ozone layer and global warming. Future HFC blend long-term use impacts are yet unknown.

Negotiated Rulemaking The AIM Act requires that all petitioners for technology transitions request a negotiated rulemaking.

However, in keeping with the AIM Act’s other provisions, we recognize EPA must make its own determination whether a negotiated rulemaking is appropriate. It is our position that a negotiated rulemaking is not needed to undertake the actions proposed in this petition.

Thank you for your consideration of our petition to enact technology transitions consistent with restoring US climate ambition and meeting the goals of the HFC phase-down under the AIM Act. We would be happy to provide any further information required to consider this petition and the requested rulemaking.

Please contact Gary Schrift at Gary_Schrift@iiar.org for any further communication in this regard.

Sincerely,

Gary Schrift President International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration www.iiar.org Submitted with the support of co-petitioners: Jim Barron Executive Director (RETA) Refrigerating Engineers and Technicians Association

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Gary Smith President ASTI - Ammonia Safety & Training Institute