30 September 2016
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 Ahold retrofitted its refrigeration systems with XP40 (R-449A) | Ahold, the Dutch retailer, recently retrofitted the refrigeration systems in 175 of its supermarkets using the Chemours refrigerant 'Opteon XP40 (R-449A)', replacing the previously used R-407F and R-507A. The retailer began the retrofit project in 2014 with the aim of reducing its CO2 emissions while maintaining its costs at the same level. Ahold managed to reduce its CO2 emissions by 57,000 tons per year as a result of the project. Its target was to reduce its CO2 emissions by 20% from levels in 2008 by 2015. Ahold tested the Opteon XP40 before rolling it across their stores after seeing a market reduction in the energy used by their refrigeration systems. |
The tests run by Ahold and refrigeration consultancy P.W. Vlaskamp B.V. from Dordrecht showed an 8% energy efficiency improvement after the retrofit using the R-449A refrigerant. In addition, without the extra 'abatement' costs, the entire retrofit would pay for itself within five years.
M.M.A. de Rooij from Ahold said:
“To see these results has completely validated our decision to retrofit to Opteon XP40. We knew that XP40 would provide the environmental benefits as a low GWP refrigerant, but the cost savings and return on investment made it so that we could meet the increasing regulations while actually improving the performance of our refrigeration systems.”
Diego Boeri, vice president of Chemours Fluorochemicals, said:
“The results of the retrofit show that Opteon XP40 is the optimal low GWP replacement for commercial refrigeration systems.”
Opteon XP 40 is Chemours' primary non-flammable replacement for R-404A. Major compressor manufacturers have approved using R-449A in their equipment and Chemours states that the refrigerant has been widely adopted around the world since they brought it to market in 2014.
XP40 has a global warming potential which is 65% lower than R-404A. In addition, Chemours states that XP40 (R-449A) improves a system's efficiency by 12% compared to R-404A. Chemours forecasts that its XP40 refrigerant will be deployed worldwide in around 1,000 supermarket refrigeration systems by the end of 2016.
XP40 has a global warming potential which is 65% lower than R-404A. In addition, Chemours states that XP40 (R-449A) improves a system's efficiency by 12% compared to R-404A. Chemours forecasts that its XP40 refrigerant will be deployed worldwide in around 1,000 supermarket refrigeration systems by the end of 2016.
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