ATMOsphere Europe 2018

Brussels, Belgium, 28 November 2018: The ninth annual ATMOsphere Europe conference took place from November 19 to 21, in Lago di Garda, Italy, the organiser, shecco, announced in a Press communiqué. Over the three-day conference, key stakeholders of natural refrigerant-based technologies attended 17 sessions, saw 70 presentations and networked with peers during the breaks and receptions, the communiqué said.

Commenting on the conference, Alvaro de Oña, COO, shecco, said: “ATMOsphere Europe 2018 served to demonstrate that technology with natural refrigerants is available today for heating and air-conditioning applications. Now it’s a matter of how to tackle barriers to bring it to the market as soon as possible.”

The event opened with an end-user interview, where industry experts from the French real estate company Gecina spoke about implementing natural refrigerants in HVAC applications of commercial buildings, the communiqué said. “HFOs are not a preference, not at all,” said Laurent Bataille, Technical Director, Gecina, adding that the company plans to convert HVAC in 50% of its buildings to natural refrigerants over the next 10–15 years, starting next year.

Mercedes S Class Coupé with CO2 air-conditioning system

Marc Chasserot, CEO, shecco, said: “The EU F-Gas Regulation has been a major driver for our industry. Europe has been leading the way but think about the others who are behind – I think the transition to natural refrigerants for HVAC will be fast.”  The conference covered different aspects of the business case for natural refrigerants, such as policy, training, end-user perspectives and latest technology trends in commercial, industrial, HVAC and mobile air-conditioning (MAC) sectors, the communiqué said. Next to the traditional technology on display in the exhibitors’ area, a Mercedes S Class Coupé equipped with CO₂ air-conditioning system was on display, at the entrance of the facilities, the communiqué further said.

The technology-trends session with the industry’s leading experts, Armin Hafner, Andy Pearson and René van Gerwen, which gave the audience an in-depth look at the latest trends in regards to CO₂, ammonia and hydrocarbon-based technologies respectively, was one of the highlights of the conference, the communiqué said. Another highlight of the conference was the Accelerate Europe 2018 Awards ceremony, where METRO AG, Unilever, E.ON Sweden, GEA and Sergio Girotto received awards for advancing natural refrigerant adoption, the communiqué further said.

According to the shecco, all the presentations from the conference are available online and on the conference app. The communiqué said, ATMOsphere Europe 2018 was the European edition of the global ATMOsphere Conference series and was supported by 55 sponsors and partners.