Southeast Asia - Event
financial, technology and policy support to Thailand’s refrigeration and air conditioning industry; the RAC NAMA Fund is the main financial instrument of the project. The RAC NAMA project is being implemented by GIZ, Germany’s International Cooperation Agency, in partnership with the Thai Government, represented by the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), and the Depar tment of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE). The NAMA Facility, a joint initiative of Germany and the U.K., commissioned the project to GIZ in 2016; it will run until March 2021. The total amount of the RAC NAMA Fund is 8.3 million Euro (approximately 300 million Baht or US$10.6 million). It has resulted in nine Thailand-based
OEMs using natural refrigerants in their production processes, eight training centers being established nationwide and 150 trainers being trained. The fund is hosted by EGAT.
ENERGY-EFFICIENCY BENEFITS At the RAC NAMA event, SIAM MAKRO PLC. (Makro), one of Thailand's largest membership-based food wholesalers, spoke about the energy- efficiency benefits and the track record of its roughly 10,000 R290 plug-in display cases at its stores. "Energy efficiency and environmental consciousness are two key values that our company follows," said Anan Watcharapongvinij, Ph.D., DirectorConstruction and Facilities Management
The Government of Thailand is therefore placing great emphasis on the promotion of energy-efficient and climate-friendly cooling technologies. - Varawut Silpa-archa, Thailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment
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at Makro, during a panel session titled, “Green Cooling Talk — Global Trend and Thai Perspective.” "We are truly supportive of this and have been following this trend of using green refrigerants in our cabinets and refrigerators for over 13 years.” Makro, which has around 130 outlets, provides food products to retail businesses, restaurants, caterers, and other business operators throughout Thailand. "Thirty to forty percent of total energy consumption comes from our refrigeration systems," said Watcharapongvinij. "Today, we are really glad we are receiving support from the government to support this initiative since it will help reduce costs not only for us but also for our customers." DY
Patana Intercool’s Transition to Propane Immediately following the RAC NAMA Fund event on February 17, media participants were invited on an exclusive on-site tour of Patana Intercool, a Thailandbased manufacturer and exporter of commercial refrigerators and display cases for supermarkets, convenience stores, cafes and restaurants. The company aims to completely phase out of freon and replace it with propane (R290), said Ekkapong Tangsirimanakul, Managing Director of Patana Intercool. “Three years ago, we already completed our transition to using cyclopentane (a foam blowing agent used for refrigerator insulation that is a low-GWP alternative to HFCs) in the production process,” said Tangsirimanakul. “Now we are in the process of moving to our new initiative, which is to completely convert the refrigerants we use to R290 by 2025.” Patana is one of the nine Thai manufacturers participating in the RAC NAMA initiative. The company received market-introduction support to help stimulate sales of the equipment.
From left - Ekkapong Tangsirimanakul and Kim Tangsirimanakul, Patana Intercool; Philipp Pischke, GIZ; and Pattanapong Tangsirimanakul, Patana Intercool. Photo by GIZ.
During the tour, Patana presented the section of its mini-showcase production line where R290 charging and testing equipment is installed. Tangsirimanakul said the company has begun offering R290 mini-showcases, bottle coolers, stainless steel refrigerators and cake showcases. “A few more pieces of R290 equipment for our production line are still on the way as we are aiming to expand our R290 production capacity,” he said.
March 2020 // Accelerate Magazine