The ATMOsphere Podcast Network

Two-year-old Danish sensor manufacturer Typhon Technologies has unveiled its first liquid-level switch that is free of Peefass (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) for refrigeration systems and heat pumps using natural or synthetic refrigerants. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

Finnish heat exchanger manufacturer Vahterus has launched a new compact plate-and-shell evaporator that adds a superheater at Chillventa 2026 in Nuremberg. The new product, called Combined+, is designed for applications requiring both the efficiency of flooded evaporation and outlet gas superheating. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

The potential of natural refrigerant high-temperature heat pumps to decarbonize industry was a major focus during several presentations at the 2026 Chillventa Congress. Chillventa is the one of the world’s largest HVAC&R trade shows and is being held in Nuremberg from October 13 to 15. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

NaturalRefrigerants.com is at Chillventa 2026 in Nuremberg this week, the world’s biggest trade show for natural refrigerants in HVAC&R. We’ll be talking with companies from across the industry and will be sharing all of our articles and Briefs on this page. Follow along here for live coverage from the show. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

A little more than two years after it originally launched, NaturalRefrigerants.com has been given a major update designed to reach more readers across the world and to ensure the site continues to be the top location for natural refrigerants news as the world continues to transition from search engines to artificial intelligence. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

Beyond the stories we published this week, here are a few others that caught our attention. Aspen Pumps Acquires Henry Group Sanhua Releases New Generation CO2 Ball Valve Fraunhofer Designs Software to Speed Up Heat Pump Installation Stadler Delivers New Trains with R2 90 H vac Systems to Swiss Railway Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) has handed over a new CO2 (R744) training reefer to West Coast TVET College’s Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Center in Cape Town. The refrigerated container will be used to train students, technicians and community members on CO2-based refrigeration technologies and help South Africa’s transition to natural refrigerants. Read the full stor...

German car manufacturer Volkswagen has modified its established CO2 (R744) heat pump to provide cooling and heating in its new subcompact class of electric vehicles (EVs). Two Volkswagen executives – Felix Nowak-Walenta, Thermal Management Test Engineer,  and Carsten Wachsmuth, Thermal Management of EVs, Research and Development Division – explained the modification and gave an update on the progr...

Manufacturers and suppliers at the 2026 FMI Energy and Store Development conference reported surging North American sales of natural refrigerant equipment, despite the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to delay stricter GWP limits for supermarket refrigeration systems. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

To support decarbonizing industrial applications that require high temperatures or indirect steam production, Johnson Controls has launched a new hydrocarbon heat pump line, Sabroe HitemHP, delivering outlet temperatures of up to 122°C (252°F), according to the company. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

A new study by a team of 16 Chinese researchers has determined that trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a byproduct of certain f-gases and other substances, interferes with the energy production needed to maintain and grow human blood vessels. The researchers are affiliated with the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control & Prevention, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou Medical University and Shanghai Jiao...

China’s Snowman Group plans to be a major player in natural refrigerants, both at home and in major and emerging markets around the world. Its strategy doesn’t center on one product line or sector, either. The company is targeting growth across, and beyond, the HVAC&R sector and is working with a wide range of natural refrigerants, including CO2 (R744), hydrocarbons, ammonia (R717) and water (...

Tecnofreddo is one of many European HVAC&R manufacturers that will be exhibiting its natural refrigerant products at Chillventa 2026, which will be held in Nuremberg from October 12–15. This includes its PERSEO line of propane (R290) heat pumps and the ZEUS IWC, an air-cooled ammonia (R717) chiller for process applications ranging from 200 to 900kW (56.8 to 255TR). Read the full story on Natur...

Over the past decade, New Zealand refrigeration contractor CoolLogic has installed very few f-gas systems for its industrial customers. “If we get backed into a corner around compliance, or because it’s an existing site that we’re retrofitting, we will put in a very micro charge of synthetic, but that’s only when we have absolutely no way out,” said Troy Ireland, General Manager, Refrigeration. “B...

Besides what we published this week, these stories caught our eye. ATMO MAC Held in Brussels Granarolo Chooses CO2 for New U.K. Cold Storage Facility Baxi Launches New Commercial R290 Heat Pumps Enex Technologies to Showcase New Natural Refrigerant Products at Chillventa 2026 Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

The articles in the podcast are as follows: St. Louis-Based Supermarket Chain Opting for Transcritical CO2 Refrigeration IAA Transportation 2026: Nidec AMEC Refines R290 Thermal Management Module for Large Passenger EVs Interview: HCB’s General Manager Details the Trends Shaping Its Next Generation of Hydrocarbon Compressors ‘If It’s a Greenfield Site, It Will Be CO2 or Ammonia’ Opportunities for...

St. Louis, Missouri-based grocery chain Dierbergs Markets is installing transcritical CO2 (R744) refrigeration systems in new stores as part of a long-term strategy, Ben Rola, the company’s Director of Engineering and Maintenance, told NaturalRefrigerants.com . Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

Automotive parts supplier Nidec AMEC (Automotive Motors & Electronic Control) is working with OEMs to refine its propane (R290) thermal management module (TMM) sized for large passenger electric vehicles (EVs), according to R&D and Application Engineering Director Matt Stieber. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

In its 2025 refrigeration report , ATMOsphere, publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com, estimated that there were more than 30 million self-contained hydrocarbon cases installed in food retail stores globally. While hydrocarbons are the dominant refrigerant in the application, that doesn’t mean companies have stopped innovating in this space. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

Natural refrigerant-based refrigeration and heat pump systems are alive and well in New Zealand despite its location about 1,000 miles (1,609km) southeast of Australia – “the bottom of the world.” That is certainly the view of Jared Bright, Contract Manager for Actíve Refrigeration , a 26-year-old HVAC&R contractor company based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Read the full story on NaturalRefri...

Italy-based HVAC manufacturer Enerblue has expanded its Silver Range propane (R290) chillers to a capacity of 900kW (255TR) . The expanded range addresses demand for higher-capacity cooling systems using natural refrigerants as the industry is transitioning away from high-GWP refrigerants, Pure Thermal, Enerblue’s distributor in the U.K., wrote on LinkedIn. Before the expansion the Silver Range ch...

This episode covers information about us, notes from the publisher and the lead author, the methodology, and an executive summary of the key findings. ⁠Read it online or download the PDF.

The articles in the podcast are as follows: ATMOsphere to Host Online Event Summarizing Key Findings From Its New ‘Commercial Chillers and Heat Pumps’ Report Mayekawa General Manager Discusses Natural Refrigerants and Ammonia Heat Pumps in New Zealand TEKO Completes Delivery of 2.9MW CO2 Refrigeration System for German Food Processor Kampsen & Co NASRC to Lead Technician Training on Natural Re...

This chapter covers technology first and then takes a brief look at the various applications for commercial natural refrigerant chillers and heat pumps. It continues with a short history of these technologies in Europe before moving onto opportunities for them in two emerging sectors. ⁠Read it online or download the PDF

This chapter maps the policy, legal and standards framework that governs the design, sale, installation and servicing of commercial chillers and heat pumps in Europe. ⁠Read it online or download the PDF