Hey Folks,
For this second edition I expected the audience to still consist largely of my immediate family… It seems that by some strange workings of the digital universe a few more people have signed up so a big hello to you and thanks.
As I get my feet under the table, please bear with me. Rest-assured I’ve got some interesting (yes really) f-gas related topics lined up for future editions.
As a quick re-cap, the idea for each newsletter is to tackle one serious subject, normally with a focus around environment and climate plus some lighter material thrown in.
If there is a big happening in the week, a major policy or regulatory announcement around f-gases I’ll aim to surface those here also.
The lighter stuff will normally look at some unusual applications that contain or use an f-gas. For those sustainability people you can use it to think about extra inclusions in your already weighty Scope 3 reporting. You’re welcome.
Right. For the serious work this week we’re going to take a look at MOP.
MOP 34
There is plenty of talk and reports around COP 27 at the moment and rightly so. However I thought it might be useful to step back a couple of weeks prior. To MOP.
MOP 34 or the Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MP) is where international representatives gather to discuss (and act) on issues relating to Ozone depleting substances (or ODS).
Without getting too wonky, the MP was setup originally to tackle the problem that became apparent to many people in the 80s and 90s with the hole in the Ozone layer. More recently there was also the Kigali amendment to the MP in 2016 which brought HFCs (including current generation refrigerants) under the Montreal umbrella.
If you do a quick survey around the room most people seem to think the ozone problem is done and dusted. While ozone levels are recovering, it is not exactly breakneck pace. Current reports suggest it will be back to 1980 levels (still elevated – 1960 would be better) around 2065… that’s beyond most current Net Zero targets.
During MOP the latest findings of the four yearly ‘Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion’ report were tabled. Even the executive summary is a chunky document (link below if interested) and there is lots of good stuff in there. However this one chart stood out to me.
Quick recap for those less familiar – chlorine abundance presents a problem for ozone. Fluorine (f-gases) contribute as a greenhouse gas problem. However many ozone depleting chemicals have both chlorine and fluorine which is why I tend to keep an eye on them… CFC-12 is the long phased out refrigerant commonly know as Freon™️.
To cut to the point. With all the effort that has gone into the Montreal Protocol – widely regarded as the most successful of all international agreements. We have made a reduction of chlorine entering the stratosphere of just 11% in close to 30 years. For sure it would have been much much higher at this point without the MP but still I was surprised.
The MP has definitely made a huge impact however it just goes to show how much effort it takes to turn these ships around and also why you can’t take the eye of the ball.
You can also see that HCFCs have grown by 185%. That is mainly down to HCFC-22 – often known as R22 and the refrigerant that went on to replace Freon™️. HCFC-22 is being phased out of use as a refrigerant. It is however used as a feedstock (input chemical) for lots of things – plastics, frying pan coatings and also the so-called ‘next generation low-GWP’ HFO refrigerants. Yep.
There is a small concession in the Montreal protocol that allows ozone gases to be used as feedstocks if they don’t contribute emissions. However, we’re now seeing a large increase in HCFC-22 emissions - mainly from feedstock. The lesson here it seems is if you leave a small area of compromise, folks will find a way to exploit it…
This was one of the topics discussed at MOP 34 however I don’t see a quick resolution coming. It is also important to consider that as we correctly turn our attention to fluorinated gases and HFCs we don’t forget their chlorinated siblings.
One other relevant thought here. Some may not be aware the ozone gases (Freon™️etc) are not covered by the Paris agreement, supposedly because they are under the MP. As a result you rarely see them in emissions reports. However they should still definitely be tracked and included as a separate line item in the accounts as per the GHG Protocol.
The MOP is also an opportunity for external NGOs to raise related issues and the EIA does an excellent job around this topic. I would highly recommend giving their report a read also for a genuine eye-opener. You can find it here.
Where the F-Gas hides…
I was planning to continue a bit of the theme from last week with another SF6 (Sulfur Hexafluoride) end-use. However I came across an f-gas hiding place that was off my radar until this week so while it’s fresh in the mind…
The cooling of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.
I like to keep current on the building analytics world and was catching up on some recent SkySpark SkyPosium presentations. It just so happened there was a good case study around the monitoring and data analytics of EV charging infrastructure for facility managers.
Until I saw the data presented, I wasn’t aware there is often significant energy use within the charging point itself – used to run liquid cooling systems.
This applies mainly to the Ultra Fast Charging and above (300kW plus). It is a lot of current being drawn and the cables need to be cooled and also kept relatively light so you don’t need Arnold’s biceps to plug-in.
The chargers can use an internal water loop inside the cable, connected to a small water chiller in the charging post. From a quick dig about it would appear several of these chiller modules are using one of the most common fluorinated refrigerants - r134a (which has a climate impact over a thousand times greater than CO2).
Not to take this as a point against EV charging infrastructure – I’m all for it. We need more of them. And to also make them more user friendly and reliable. Given the millions of charging points needed, plus those in deployment, we need to ensure any cooling systems avoid the use of fluorinated refrigerants.
If you’re new and made it this far thanks. For those interested, last week I touched on the use of SF6 in scuba diving and you can find it here.
That’s a wrap for this week and ‘till next time,
Adrian.
p.s. as with last week there are bonus points for those that identify the artist in the title and the tenuous link…
Fixed stuff here for newcomers
There is lots of news every week from the cooling industry and plenty of newsletters that cover it well. The intention is to keep this newsletter focused on the most prominent f-gases (fluorinated greenhouse gases), the most common of which are refrigerants and importantly their environmental impact. That’s the lane I’ve chosen - I’ll do my best to stick to it.
The What
Below is the seven (formal) greenhouse gases that countries and companies should track, report and hopefully reduce.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Methane (CH4)
Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6)
Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3)
There is also the still circulating, ozone damaging chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and the ‘new-generation’ hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs).
Hopefully you can spot the pattern.
The Why
Emissions from f-gases and refrigerants have been the fastest growing greenhouse gases over the past decade (more than CO2 and methane - check out IPCC WG3 summary for policy makers). They are also classed as super pollutants given their outsized global warming and other environmental impacts.
You can find my basic primer here and a plenty more detail in the whitepaper here
Some useful permalinks
The scale of the climate challenge can often feel daunting. This piece helps me take a step back and understand where we need to focus first - recommend a read.
There are plenty of technology solutions available to address the cooling and refrigerant challenge. You can find many of them here
Beware when the same entities who have contributed to the current f-gas problem propose you new solutions… This is a good place to get up to speed.
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