Universal Studios Beijing adopts R448A

USA: Honeywell’s lower GWP refrigerant R448A has been selected for a cold storage warehouse at the Universal Studios Beijing theme park. 

Part of Universal Beijing Resort, Universal Studios Beijing is the first cold storage warehouse owner in China to implement R448A on a large scale. R448A is branded by Honeywell as Solstice N40.

Solstice N40 is an ASHRAE A1 (non-flammable) refrigerant with GWP of 1273, far lower than the R22, R404A, and R507A legacy refrigerants for cold storage. In comparison to R404A, Solstice N40 is estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by 70% for Universal Studios Beijing.

When complete, the Universal Studios Beijing will become the fifth Universal Studios-branded theme park in the world, the seventh Universal-built park overall, and the third in Asia, after Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Singapore. The US$3.3bn project was announced in 2014 on a 130 acre site in the northeastern most part of 990 acre Universal Beijing Resort.

“With the growing number of market players in China adopting higher standards in environmental protection and cost effectiveness, we will continue to partner with our customers like Universal Studios Beijing to realise social responsibility and sustainable development,” said Deming Yan, chief engineer of Shanghai Sino Refrigeration Equipment Engineering, the construction contractor of the cold storage project.

“It is really exciting to see Universal Studios Beijing leading the way in China’s cold storage industry, converting to more environmentally preferable refrigerants. We will continue to partner with our customers to realise social responsibility and sustainable development in China,” said Tom Liu, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Advanced Materials, Asia Pacific.