R449A in 1,000 supermarkets next year

USA: Chemours is predicting that R449A, the lower GWP alternative refrigerant for R404A, will be adopted in more than 1,000 supermarket systems by the end of next year.

R449A, marketed by Chemours as Opteon XP40, has a GWP of 1282 which is significantly lower than R404A. A blend of R32 (24.3%), R125 (24.7%), R1234yf (25.3%) and R134a (25.7%), it is said to closely match the properties and performance to R404A, and can also replace other HFCs such as R507A, R407A and R407F. It also offers a direct replacement solution to supermarkets looking for a more sustainable R22 replacement.

Introduced in October 2014, Chemours is reporting “strong acceleration” in the adoption of R449A in supermarket and other commercial refrigeration systems. Based on current orders and customer product testing, Chemours says XP40 is on pace to be used in more than 1,000 supermarket systems worldwide by the end of 2016.

While CO2 continues to predominate for new systems, R449A is seen as one of the leading direct replacements for R404A in existing systems.

R449A has been approved by major compressor manufacturers and adopted by a number of supermarkets in Europe. Chemours reports that it is also gaining traction in other regions, including North America and Australia, where pressures on HFCs are mounting.

“Customers continue to tell us that they prefer our Opteon refrigerants to replace high GWP HFCs such as R404A because they are direct replacements offering easy and low cost conversion,” said Diego Boeri, global business director, Chemours Fluoroproducts.

“With our Opteon XP40 refrigerant, customers are seeing improved performance including energy efficiency increases of up to 12% as they transition away from their HFC predecessors,” he added.