58 // Events
“It has built-in, native CO 2 functionality,” overseeing suction groups, high-pressure and flash-tank by-pass valves, heat reclaim, condenser VFDs, and parallel compression, he said. For hydrocarbons, Brazilian multinational Embraco showed off its new multi-voltage propane compressor, the FMFT413U, which accommodates the voltage of any country in the world. An end user simply attaches a geographically correct power cord, whether for the U.S. (120 V), European countries (230 V), Japan (200 V) or elsewhere. “We came up with one solution: you just change the power cord,” said Michel Moreira, commercial refrigeration sales senior manager, North American region, Embraco. The compressor employs variable-speed technology, helping to improve temperature control and reduce energy consumption by up to 30%, Moreira said. 1/
ASIAN COMPANIES IN THE USA Asian companies are also seeing opportunities in the U.S. market for natural refrigerants. Thailand-based compressor manufacturer Kulthorn is seeing growth for light commercial and fractional HP units using hydrocarbons in North America. “There is more and more demand for small and commercial applications,” said Dean Rafiee, Kulthorn’s director of business development. In North America, the company is focusing on further optimising its complete range of hydrocarbon compressors.
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Meanwhile, Huayi Compressor Barcelona, a Chinese-Spanish manufacturer of hydrocarbon compressors, is also optimistic about the market prospects for hydrocarbons. “We see the U.S. market as promising a lot of opportunities and especially with natural refrigerants,” said Pedro Olalla, sales director at Huayi Compressor Barcelona. “Some customers are already going to – and a lot are thinking about – natural refrigerants.” The company is working with OEMs and end users to drive the light-commercial market towards hydrocarbons. “We have a lot of experience with R290,” Olalla said. A major driver in the U.S. has been large food and beverage manufacturers that have converted many of their HFC-based fridges to hydrocarbons.
1 / Huayi's R290 compressors 2 / Kulthorn's R290 condensing unit
Japan’s Mayekawa believes its small packaged ammonia-CO 2 units will take off for use in display cases, walk-in coolers, process cooling, HVAC and data centres. The product on display at the AHR Expo was an ammonia/CO 2 compact chiller called the Sierra-A. It has a “smaller capacity than the NewTon and is air-cooled,” said Tadashi Hamaoka, vice-president, Mayekawa Canada. As Accelerate Europe left the show, it was clear that European, North American and Asian companies are helping drive the market for natural refrigerants in the U.S. MG & CM
Accelerate Europe // Spring 2018