President of Nihon Netsugen Systems Details the Company’s Growth in Southeast Asia

Katsuhiko Harada, President of Nihon Netsugen Systems, outlined the company’s growth in Southeast Asia and plans to extend the reach of its CO₂ (R744) products in an interview with Jan Dusek, COO and Co-Founder of ATMOsphere, publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com.

Under its Super Green line, NNS manufactures CO₂ condensing units for cold storage and industrial processing applications. It also produces CO₂ brine chillers and distributes large-scale ammonia (R717) refrigeration systems manufactured by GEA. In 2021, the company provided the first transcritical industrial CO₂ refrigeration system installed in Malaysia, and in 2023 it furnished the first industrial transcritical CO₂ refrigeration system installed in the Philippines.

“We see big potential in Malaysia, with a five-year-old installation there supplying fantastic energy savings without a failure problem,” Harada said.

In 2023, NNS opened a new factory in Shiga, Japan, which doubled its CO₂ equipment production capacity to meet the growing year-on-year demand, according to Harada. He told Dusek that the company has averaged 120 CO₂ units sold per year for the past two years. However, he sees a 15‒20% annual sales increase in the next few years, with projects already slated two years out.

Energy savings: “Our partner in Malaysia is doing really well, with a 65% reduction in energy consumption compared to replaced systems using synthetic refrigerant alternatives,” Harada said.

• NNS has 30 CO₂ refrigeration units installed in Malaysia in small-scale cold storage facilities, with one to two units per project.
• “I traveled to Malaysia last week and visited five installations,” Harada said. “Even in outside temperatures of 35°C [95°F], the cold storage units were well cooled.”
• Heat recovery on the CO₂ units provides energy-efficient dehumidification, defrost and hot water.

 The Philippines: “We expect more sales in the Philippines, with our partner Cold Front Technologies promoting our CO₂ products,” Harada said, adding that the contractor has several projects in the proposal stages.

 Going big: “We attended the ATMOsphere conference in Australia to see the market trends in Oceania,” Harada said. “Since end users want larger capacities, we’ve decided to make up to 500kW (142.2TR) CO₂ products, with the intent to produce a standardized model for the international market.” ATMO Australia was organized by ATMOsphere and held May 12–13 in Sydney.

• In Japan, NNS limits its CO₂ product sizes to cooling capacities of 170kW (48.3TR) to avoid certification requirements imposed on larger capacity equipment.

New markets: NNS’s Malaysian installation partner is exploring additional Southeast Asia markets. In addition, the company has developed a CO₂ high-temperature heat pump.

• The Malaysian partner has already sold NNS’s CO₂ refrigeration units in Singapore, according to Harada, adding that he is also willing to look for sales in Vietnam and Cambodia, too.
• “In January, we will launch a CO₂ high-temperature heat pump capable of producing 120‒130°C [248‒266°F] temperatures,” Harada said, with applications for pressurized sanitary processing hot water for industrial processing.

“We see big potential in Malaysia, with a five-year-old installation there supplying fantastic energy savings without a failure problem.”

Katsuhiko Harada, President Nihon Netsugen Systems