About the Workshop:
While fossil fuel-based power plants are the primarily responsible for the majority of GHG emissions, the HVAC industry is not far behind. With the projected growth in industrialization followed by an increase in global population and per capita income, the demand for food and natural resources is only expected to increase. India being primarily an agricultural economy, the demand for HVAC requirements in food and pharma, dairy, fisheries is expected to grow exponentially in the near future. Meeting this demand in terms of power, land and water would put HVAC industry as of the leading contributor of GHG emissions in India.
Over the years, India’s GHG emissions from HVAC industries has increased substantially from 248 Mt CO2 (equivalent) in the year 2000 to 438 Mt CO2 (equivalent) in 2016. Presently, the Indian HVAC uses ~45% halogen-based refrigerants such as R134a, R407A, and R410A.  These halogen-based refrigerants have GWP values ranging between 1300 – 2000 and are primarily contributors to GHG emissions. Replacing these synthetic refrigerants with natural alternatives such as CO2, Ammonia, and hydrocarbons would have a direct impact on GHG emissions. In this regard, the EU has been one of the principal drivers for promoting adoption of natural refrigerants across the world.  Many EU countries have successfully developed robust industrial scale natural refrigerant systems with proven performance and reliability.
India firmly believes that rigorous R&D efforts through a strong academia-industry partnership leading to technology transfer is a key measure to ensure local adaption and capacity building for an ecologically sustained growth. As per the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 2020, the per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of India is far below the world average of 6.3 tCO2e. Despite being is one of the lowest GHG emitters India is the one of the leading countries to ratify the Paris Climate accord to reduce GHG emissions to fulfil its pledge of 1.5°C rise in global temperatures.
This workshop aims to highlight the advantages of natural refrigerants-based systems by experts from Norway and India. Expected participation from HVAC component manufacturers suppliers, system developers, and end users would help understand the concerns across the entire cross section of HVAC industry. The presence of policy makers, think tanks, government bodies, research labs and educational institutes would help in preparing and drafting specific guidelines to enable adoption and sustained use of natural refrigerants by the Indian HVAC industry.