ATMOsphere, a global market accelerator of clean cooling and heating solutions and publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com, has reapproved the ATMO Approved Natural Refrigerants Label for GTS, an Italian hydrocarbon gas manufacturer.
This marks the second approval for the company, initially certified in January 2024.
“Confirming ATMOsphere’s approval is an honor that enhances our market reputation and underscores our commitment to the environment,” said Paolo Zunino, CEO of GTS. “This recognition reflects our dedication to delivering products that go beyond meeting sustainability standards, setting new benchmarks in eco-conscious innovation.”
Launched in June 2022, the ATMO Approved label was created to offer a global benchmark for identifying leading manufacturers of natural refrigerant systems and components. In 2024, the label’s scope expanded to include contractors and installers, reflecting the growing need for excellence across the entire natural refrigerant sector.
In November 2024, ATMOsphere opened registration for the 2025 label, announcing the calculation of the amount of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) emissions avoided by certified companies through their natural refrigerant solutions. This addition aligns with recent research highlighting TFA as a “planetary boundary threat” due to its potential risks to human and environmental health.
“We’ll be the first to do that with this label,” said Marc Chasserot, CEO and Founder of ATMOsphere.
GTS is the fourth company to be approved for the ATMO Approved label in 2025, following Fenagy, ENNS Industrial Refrigeration and Zudek. Manufacturers and contractors that were approved for the Natural Refrigerants Label in 2024 were SURE Solutions, General Refrigeration, Secon, Güntner, Nihon Netsugen Systems, TEKO, Refra, M&M Carnot, Zero-C, Equans Kältetechnik, Zudek, SCM Frigo, Temprite, Ceptek, Novum and Vahterus.
“This recognition reflects our dedication to delivering products that go beyond meeting sustainability standards, setting new benchmarks in eco-conscious innovation.”
Paolo Zunino, CEO of GTS
Quality assurance
GTS produces more than 25,000 metric tons of natural refrigerant gases each year, including propane (R290), isobutane (R600a), n-butane (R600) and propylene (R1270). It also produces propane and propylene mixtures R433A, R433B and R433C.
According to the manufacturer, its Polarpure-branded gases have a purity of up to 99.99%.
GTS manufactures refrigerant gases at its distillation plant in Arquà Polesine, Italy, which opened in 2021 to meet increasing demand for refrigerant-grade hydrocarbons. The facility is powered by a 1MW solar photovoltaic system and R290 heat pumps to reduce the company’s emissions.
GTS also has branches in Belgium, Romania, Brazil and Thailand to ensure the reliable supply of its products to various sectors across the world, including refrigeration. By using its own trucks, isotanks and cylinders, the company has said it is able to avoid contamination and assure quality.
In India and Bangladesh, GTS has supplied its R290 and R600a to major refrigerator manufacturers via gas and chemical distributor LB Specialties, which has emphasized the importance of product quality and reliable supply.
“For us, safety and quality, as well as service, are the most important aspects of the business, which we find that GTS maintains scrupulously,” explained Barun Das, National Manager for LB Specialities.
“Even though there were possibilities of supply disruption due to the unexpected geo-political turmoil, [GTS] handled the supply chain well,” he added. “We did not have any problem [at] that critical time.”
“For us, safety and quality, as well as service, are the most important aspects of the business, which we find that GTS maintains scrupulously.”
Barun Das, National Manager for LB Specialities
Best-in-class certification
The ATMOsphere label is designed to help qualified manufacturers and contractors to market products and services to new customers and regions in the natural refrigerants marketplace. Certified organizations can display the label on products, marketing materials, email signatures and trade show booths, boosting their visibility and helping end users identify best-in-class suppliers.
“The label will be very visible in the global marketplace, and companies can take advantage of this to strengthen their brand,” noted Chasserot. “By being global and multi-application, this label can help to create trust across new applications and regions. We want this multi-year label process to help move the market to cleaner solutions with natural refrigerant solutions over time.”
To qualify, companies must demonstrate excellence across four pillars:
- Company vision – a commitment to natural refrigerants as a core business.
- Customer satisfaction – positive end-user testimonials confirming reliability and performance.
- Measurable impact – mitigation of CO₂ and TFA emissions.
- Proactive training – investment in employee and stakeholder education.
Additional information on the 2025 label and the registration form can be found here.
“We feel that, as an independent player with a global mindset and a global presence across all natural refrigerants and multiple applications, we are very well suited to provide this level of approval for the label,” explained Chasserot.
ATMOsphere has been active in the natural refrigerant space for nearly 20 years, producing dozens of market reports, publishing thousands of news articles, hosting more than 60 international conferences and attending hundreds of trade shows during this time.
Addressing PFAS concerns
A notable addition to the label criteria in recent years is the focus on eliminating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including TFA, which is formed from the atmospheric breakdown of certain HFO and HFC refrigerants. Research has linked TFA to environmental accumulation and potential health risks, including reproductive toxicity and liver dysfunction in animal studies.
“The label criteria around PFAS acknowledges what companies are doing to ensure they are PFAS-free,” Chasserot said. “ATMO Approved companies have the vision and leadership required to navigate the market today and help [companies] move away from PFAS and global-warming synthetic alternatives.”
