World News

Industry news and insights from Europe and around the World

UK News

Latest news and developments in the United Kingdom

Products

Keep up-to-date with the latest new products and technology

Features

General articles, applications and industry analysis

Thermo King adopts R452A as standard

USA: Transport refrigeration company Thermo King is to cease the supply in North America of its Precedent truck and trailer units using the high GWP refrigerant R404A.

Thermo King says it will transition its Precedent trailer portfolio will transition to the lower-GWP refrigerant R452A in January 2022, and truck products will come standard with the new refrigerant mid-2022.

The move marks another step by US companies to phase down HFCs through the US AIM Act and bring it into line with the Kigali Amendment.

Sold by Chemours as Opteon XP44, R452A has a GWP of around 2141, which, although high, is a substantial reduction on R404A’s 3922. It is said to have the same cooling capacity, fuel efficiency, reliability and refrigerant charge as R404A, and is actively promoted as a “drop-in” conversion for R404A.

The refrigerant has already been widely adopted in Europe and elsewhere with no reported problems. It was adopted by Thermo King as the standard refrigerant in Europe way back in 2016.

While R452A is already available as a “drop-in” in the USA, it will now become standard for Thermo King.

Latest News

21st July 2026

BDR Thermea completes GI Holding purchase

ITALY: Netherlands-based indoor climate solutions company BDR Thermea has announced the full, 100% acquisition of Italian HVAC manufacturer G I Holding.
21st July 2026

OCS to buy FM rival Mitie

UK: OCS has announced its proposed acquisition of facilities management rival Mitie in a deal worth up to £3.1bn.
21st July 2026

Group will argue for risk-focused PFAS policies

USA: The Sustainable PFAS Action Network (SPAN), a US coalition advocating for what it calls science-based, risk-focused PFAS policies, has formed a working group to stress the importance of refrigerants.
20th July 2026

EPEE calls for heating and cooling initiative

BELGIUM: The European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE) has called for a dedicated European heating and cooling initiative, accompanied by financial support and fiscal incentives.
19th July 2026

HPA UK lines up first conference

UK: Tickets are now on sale for HPA UK’s first annual conference since its formation in January from the merger of the three main UK heat pump associations. 
19th July 2026

Exploring dehumidification in air conditioning

FRANCE: A new technical brief from the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) reviews typical air conditioning processes involving dehumidification and major air dehumidification technologies.