A/C loop R-744 - Valeo
Net-Zero Product
Refrigerant GWP: 1
Refrigerant safety class: A1
Awards/ merits: Automechanika Innovation Awards 2018
Company Headquarters: Germany
Transport Air Conditioning
Transport air-conditioning refers to air-conditioning found within the cabin of cars, lorries, buses and trains. The transport sector is particularly problematic in terms of emissions due to high leakage rates.
Cool technology options include CO2 and hydrocarbons. Though at the present there are no hydrocarbon based mobile air-conditioners sold on the OEM market for passenger cars, the use of hydrocarbons is technically feasible, as demonstrated by the large number of cars that have reportedly been converted from CFCs
and HFCs
to hydrocarbons. Refrigerants should only be used in equipment that has been designed for their use, to ensure efficiency and safe use.
HFO-1234yf is being widely adopted in passenger car air-conditioning as an alternative to HFC-134a. However, HFO-1234yf and other HFOs
are not considered Cool Technologies due to concerns over their long-term environmental impact. Some German car companies are using CO2 in a number of car series, based on concerns over the safety of HFO-1234yf. CO2 is expected to become a more attractive proposition as the electric car market grows.
More Information
BVG
Case Study
BVG is Germany’s largest local transport company. In 2010, the company installed CO2 air-conditioning in seven buses in Berlin. The A/C systems were provided by Konvekta. Most new city buses and all long-distance buses in Germany are equipped with A/C systems with an average HFC leakage of 13-14% a year, or a total of 140,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
ClimateWell
Cool Technologies Product
ClimateWell systems run using heat, water and glycol, and do not require a refrigerant. The systems are particularly well suited for transit vehicles, recreational vehicles and contruction vehicles as air-conditioning can be used while the engine is off.
CO2 Heat Pump for electric buses (part of Citaro bus) - Daimler
Net-Zero Product
Refrigerant GWP: 1
Refrigerant safety class: A1
Energy source: Electric
Company Headquarters: Germany
Compressor hermetic rotary Panasonic C-CV753L0V - Panasonic
Net-Zero Product
Refrigerant GWP: 1
Refrigerant safety class: A1
Rated cooling capacity range (in kW) 13.2 kW (Speed 60rps/Suction temp: 32.2˚C/Gas cooler outlet: 32.2˚C/Tev -10ºC/Discharge 110 bar)
Dimensions Weight (in kg): 39.2kg
Company Headquarters: Spain
Energy source: Electric
Training: Full technical assistance available to customer
Awards/Merits: Nine years of field track record
Deutsche Bahn
Case Study
Deutsche Bahn, a German railway company and Europe’s largest railway operator, aims to use natural refrigerants for air conditioning in new trains by 2020. The first DB Bahn train to be fitted with CO2 air conditioning was a Siemens VT642 train, in Chemnitz (Saxony) in 2016. Since then the company has carried out a few more projects with a CO2 air-cycle system.
ECOLINE TE compressors - Bitzer
Net-Zero Product
Refrigerant GWP: 1
Refrigerant safety class: A1
Rated cooling capacity range (in kW) 6.56-112.60 depending on the model
Dimensions: weight (in kg): 94-243
Company Headquarters: Germany
Konvekta
Cool Technologies Product
Konvekta has had some success outside of Deutsche Bahn with CO2 MAC in buses in Germany and Austria. “The vehicles with CO2 in operation are roughly 100 vehicles,” Michael Sonnekalb of Konvekta.
Konvekta CO2 Heat Pump
Cool Technologies Product
This heat pump is designed to offer air-conditioning for electric buses. Unlike other systems it doesn’t require an additional diesel heater to supply hot air.The company claims that the adaptability of the system enables optimum operating conditions for the battery, allowing an increase in range by up to 40%.
OKA
Cool Technologies Product
OKA, the Australian manufacturer of on/off road vehicles is the first OEM in the world to use hydrocarbon refrigerant in their mobile air-conditioning systems. The company states that by adopting hydrocarbon refrigerant, OKA produces more efficient, more environmentally sustainable, less toxic and higher performance AC systems all at a lower price.
