A group of Chinese delegates, which included 18 university professors and two senior government officials from the People’s Republic of China, received customised training for the safe handling of alternative refrigerants for air conditioning and refrigeration applications, Italy-based Centro Studi Galileo (CSG) said. The European Project Real Alternative for Life supported the training programme by CSG.

It is not the first time that Chinese experts have paid a visit to the Italian capital of refrigeration; delegations from China travelled to Casale Monferrato, where CSG is based, in 2012 and 2013, as well. According to CSG, owing to the success of the previous collaborations, there was strong support for the organisation of the recent session, which promoted fruitful cooperation between Italy and China and delivered bespoke training for the attending delegates.

A core topic of the training, which is fundamental for the future of the sector, was the implications of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The Kigali Amendment, which was signed by all of the Parties, requires all involved nations to gradually switch from using Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) to natural gases, or the brand new synthetic fourth-generation Hydrofluoro-olefins (HFOs). Although the greener alternatives have a lower polluting potential, they also have some features, such as high flammability, which means that specific training is required for their safe handling. In line with this, the main focus of the training was the safety issues related to hydrocarbon plants, industrial systems working with ammonia and cascade systems with carbon dioxide.