The ATMOsphere Podcast Network

The use of transcritical CO2 (R744) refrigeration systems and self-contained hydrocarbon display cases – mostly propane (R290) – continues to climb in Latin America, according to ATMOsphere’s 2025 report “ Refrigeration: Commercial and Industrial Refrigeration with Natural Refrigerants .” Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

In addition to what we published this week, these stories caught our eye. Carrier Donates CO2 Transport Refrigeration Units to TU Berlin Ebm-papst to Bring Its Propane Turbo Compressor to the Rail Sector LU-VE Provides New Air Coolers for New CO2 Cold Storage Facility in China Madagascar Ratifies the Kigali Amendment Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on July 21 that he is co-leading a coalition of 18 state attorneys general and two localities in filing a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), challenging its revision of the Technology Transitions Rule on HFC emissions announced in May . Read the full story...

Canadian manufacturer Vitalis has supplied an 185kW (52.7TR) transcritical CO2 (R744) Roxsta G6 refrigeration system for installation at a Pennsylvania food processing plant. The system, dedicated to low-temperature (LT) application, will blast-freeze steamed dumplings at an evaporating temperature of −42°C (−44°F) at the Bethlehem facility, Luke Redd, Head of Marketing at Vitalis, told NaturalRef...

Work on the 150MW (42,651TR) ammonia (R717)-based district heating plant in Cologne, Germany, has entered the main construction phase, with commissioning scheduled for 2028, according to manufacturer Everllence (formerly MAN Energy Solutions ). Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on June 26 a proposed rule to monitor 30 contaminants that are not currently regulated but may be present in drinking water, including trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a byproduct of some HFOs. The proposed rule entered the Federal Register on July 1. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

SK Bioscience’s new global biopharmaceutical research and process development center in Songdo, South Korea, features eight CO2 (R744) condensing units (CDUs) from Italian manufacturer SCM Frigo , providing 93.8kW (26.7TR) of cooling capacity for pharmaceutical storage. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the EU agency that provides independent scientific advice on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain, announced on July 22 that it has significantly lowered health-based guidance values for trifluoracetic acid (TFA), indicators of what is considered a safe level in daily food, beverage and drinking-water consumption. Read the full story...

In addition to what we published this week, these stories caught our eye. South Korean Researchers Develop R717 Adsorption Heat Pump Designed for 40°C Heat Sources Bluu unit Acquires Data Center Solutions Provider Prior 1 German Bakery Wholesale Supplier Chooses ECOOLTEC TM182 TRU Rhoss Announces New Commercial Propane Heat Pumps and Chillers Sanhua Releases SEK Kit Read the full story on NaturalR...

GEA , a German-based large-scale refrigeration manufacturer, has installed a 2.4MW (682TR) ammonia (R717) refrigeration system at a new Betko fruit storage facility in Sunnyside, South Africa. Betko grows, stores and ships approximately 65,000 metric tons of apples and pears annually, exporting them to around 40 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and the U.K.  Read the full story on NaturalRefr...

NVIDIA has developed a new generation of AI servers dubbed Rubin that can be cooled by liquid at 45°C (113°F) . Rubin uses cold plates for cooling; they sit on top of the processor and extract heat via a fluid mixture that is 75% water and 25% propylene glycol. The fluid enters the cold plate at 45°C and exits at 55°C (131°F). Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

There are thousands of Alfa Laval heat exchangers installed in data centers across the world. The installed base is large, and each year the industry adds hundreds of large gasketed plate heat exchangers alongside thousands of compact brazed units, according to Anna Blomborg, Head of Data Centers at the company. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

Controller-equipped Güntner air coolers and gas coolers support a 3.5MW (995TR) CO2 (R744) refrigeration system at a new logistics center in Montalto Uffugo, Italy, according to Stefano Vidal, the company’s Italy Division Manager of Heat Exchanger Sales. Working together, Italian manufacturer Arneg and German-based Güntner developed energy-efficient solutions for the CO2 refrigeration system servi...

The articles in the podcast are as follows: Interview: China Will Be the World’s Leading Market for Natural Refrigerant Systems, Says ArkRef’s CEO Ebm-papst Builds Commercial Heat Pump Demonstration Unit Featuring Its Propane Turbo Compressor Use of Natural Refrigerants Expanding Across South Africa Retail and Logistics UNIDO Secures $14 Million to Phase Out F-Gases Worldwide, Which Includes Proje...

In addition to what we published this week, these stories caught our eye. Enex Releases 2025 Sustainability Report Fenagy and SCM Frigo See ‘Record-High Growth’ Rivacold Provides 1.6MW CO2 Refrigeration System for Italian Logistics Center Frauenhofer ISE Develops R290 Heat Pump Concepts for Multi-Family Homes ⁠ Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com ⁠

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has secured $14 million (€12.2 million) to phase out f-gases worldwide, an effort that includes projects to transition to natural refrigerants. The funding is intended to help developing countries that are signatories to the Montreal Protocol, also known as Article 5 countries, reduce their f-gas emissions. The 43 approved projects wil...

In 2025 there were 25 supermarkets and 10 industrial sites in China with transcritical CO2 (R744) refrigeration systems, according to ATMOsphere, publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com. That same year there were an estimated 111,650 stores and industrial sites in Europe using transcritical CO2 refrigeration systems. While that gap is immense, Noah Song, CEO at Chinese industrial refrigeration system...

South Africa has continued to expand the use of natural refrigerants across retail and logistics applications, according to ATMOsphere’s 2025 report “Refrigeration: Commercial and Industrial Refrigeration with Natural Refrigerants.” ATMOsphere is the publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

This Expert Opinion column has been written by Ritesh Raj, a Growth Engineer at Mindlabs Cloud , which deploys IoT (internet of things)-based environmental monitoring systems across pharmaceutical cold chains, GMP (good manufacturing practice) manufacturing facilities and regulated cold storage operations around the world. Here, Raj writes about the need for cold storage operators to revisit their...

German OEM ebm-papst has built a new propane (R290) heat pump demonstration unit featuring its CompaNamic oil-free turbo compressor. The demonstration unit is a monobloc air-to-water heat pump with a capacity of 23kW (6.5TR). It can produce hot water at 70°C (158°F) and operate in ambient conditions ranging from −10 to 30°C (14 to 86°F). Ebm-papst is one of the leading fan manufacturers in the HVA...

The articles in the podcast are as follows: Industry Roundtable: CO2 Condensing Units Are Gaining Traction in North America ATMO America: Americold Deploys Single-Stage Transcritical CO2 Refrigeration at New 542TR Canadian Warehouse Beijer Ref Installs ‘Largest CO2 Refrigeration System’ in South Korea at Incheon Airport Part 1: Driving Data Center Efficiency: How Alfa Laval Turns Heat Into Opportu...

In addition to what we published this week, these stories caught our eye. GEA Builds 2.4MW Ammonia Cold Storage Facility for a South African Fruit Producer Intellihot Acquired by Zurn Elkay Water Solutions France Amends Regulations Prohibiting A3 Refrigerants in High-Rises Washington State Establishes Refrigerant Task Force ⁠ Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com ⁠

Cold storage warehouse operator Americold has deployed single-stage compressors in its new 542TR (1.9MW) transcritical CO2 (R744) warehouse in New Brunswick, Canada, according to Phillip Walker, General Manager at TechnoRef4, the engineering firm that designed the system. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com .

Alfa Laval is a global manufacturer of heat transfer, separation and fluid-handling solutions headquartered in Lund, Sweden. It was founded in 1883 and originally manufactured milk separators, with its first heat exchanger produced in 1938. Today Alfa Laval has more than 30 manufacturing sites across the globe and 22,000 employees. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com

There were 5,120 supermarkets with transcritical CO2 (R744) refrigeration systems in North America (Canada and the United States) in 2025. While that’s just 6% of all supermarkets in North America, CO2 refrigeration has been growing rapidly in the sector, with installations jumping roughly 75% from 2023 to 2025. Read the full story on NaturalRefrigerants.com