For more detailed information on this techology transfer, please refer to original project documents under the documents section below.
This Technology Transfer Advances Chile's
- Nationally Determined Contribution to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions per GDP unit by 30% below the 2007 levels by 2030. The target includes all priority sectors identified in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2010), including use of solvents and other products.
CTCN Response
- Provide guidance on national policy, regulatory and legal frameworks necessary to support the adoption of low-GWP, higher-efficiency equipment
- Introduce natural refrigerant systems to Chilean market and demonstrate effectiveness in reducing ODS and GHG emissions to policy-makers and facility owners
- Improve awareness of stakeholders regarding potential refrigeration technologies and their benefits
Relevant Technologies and Approaches
- Shift to coolants and refrigerants with lower GWP
- Food preservation
Expected Results
- The project has increased the awareness of companies in this relevant Chilean sector about the impact of the refrigeration systems on climate change and the current and upcoming regulation that will limit the use of HCFCs and HFCs as refrigerants. Consequently, the project has prepared the ground for an effective phase-out and phase-down of those substances in this sector in particular, but also in the entire Chilean industry.
- In addition, it has provided the Government and public entities with relevant information on the current use of refrigerants in this sector and also on the measures to increase the share of zero- and low-GWP alternatives in this and other industrial sectors. Therefore, the project will help the country in its future international commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Locally, the project will contribute to the current Clean Production Agreement between the ASCC and the agro-industry (the so-called “APL III”).
- Finally, by assessing the opportunities to introduce the refrigeration technology based on CO2, Chile may be one of the first countries in the region to adopt such an state-of-the-art technology, which would be a good example for its neighboring countries. In this regard, we recommend to consult the report on the replicability of this technology produced under the third component of the project to better understand the impact of the project in the region.
Anticipated co-benefits
- Energy efficiency: a reduction on the energy consumption of the companies subject to this project and other similar industries will be encouraged based on the designs of conversion.
- Mobilization of funds: one of the companies subject to this design of conversion has already expressed its interest in investing in the CO2 technology. Besides, the Government is planning to undertake pilot projects for conversions into this technology under the frameworks of the HCFC Phase-out Management Plan and the future strategy for the phase-down of HFCs.
- Employment: the trainings for technicians and trainers on the CO2 technology will contribute to the dissemination of knowledge on this area, which may match the future demand of technicians for the installation and maintenance of such systems by companies of the industrial sector.
Lessons Learnt
Lessons Learnt for this technical assistance
The essential factor contributing to the success of this project was the synergies among all parties involved. The combination of the expertise of the Ozone Unit on refrigeration systems, the experience of ASCC with the agro-industry and the willingness of the target sector to learn about this topic channelled by Chilealimentos has been crucial for the implementation of all components and the achievement of the expected results.
Recommendations: There is still room for increasing the role of educational entities in projects like this one, where there is a component on training. In the case of the survey on the use of refrigerants by the companies of the target sector, there is still an important amount of information to be obtained about the small companies, which may consume higher ratios of HCFCs and HFCs than the medium and big ones.
Lessons Learnt related to climate technology transfer
Among the low-GWP refrigerants for industrial systems identified in the assessment of the first component, ammonia is already well known and largely used in the country. On its turn, the CO2 technology for industrial refrigeration is at an initial stage in developed countries, and almost unknown in Chile. The opportunities for this technology to be introduced in the country are linked to the upcoming regulation for the reduction of HCFCs and HFCs, the safety issues linked to the use of ammonia and the bigger energy efficiency gained with CO2 systems. The challenges are mainly related to the skills of technicians in Chile to install and maintain such systems. The barriers relate to the capital costs of the technology and the lack of incentives in the current regulations and policies.
Recommendations: The establishment of a longterm training programme for technicians on the CO2 refrigeration technology is highly recommended. Considering the future phaseout of HCFCs and the phasedown of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol, it may be convenient to incentivize from the Government the conversion to zero- or lowGWP and highly energy efficient refrigeration technologies in the private sector.
Lessons Learnt related to the CTCN technical assistance process
The CTCN TA in Chile has proven to be an effective tool to build synergies among different entities that have a common goal. This has been the case during the inception phase and during the implementation.
Recommendations: There is still room to improve the distribution of roles and tasks within each of the entities involved.
