Current state and market trends in technologies with natural refrigerants

Abstract

The market for refrigeration and heat pumps systems based on natural working fluids is growing at different pace in different market segments, while they have always been applied and available in others. The aim of this article is to present the current state of the market and is only to be seen as snapshot made in the middle of 2021. In this article only future proof working fluids/refrigerants are considered, namely substances naturally occurring such as CO2, different types of hydrocarbons, NH3, H2O and air. Fluorinated hydrocarbons are again in the spotlight related to their environmental impact with respect to the TFA pollution of drinking water and being the major source of PFAS pollution also of drinking water and essential foodstuff like mother milk.