The Greener Reefer Transition Alliance, a collaborative industry initiative led by the GIZ (German Society for International Cooperation), has introduced an emissions and cost simulator that compares refrigerants used in maritime containers (reefers) across real-world trade routes.
The free online Reefers Emissions & Cost Savings Simulator allows users to input variables, including route, cargo, carbon pricing and refrigerant and fuel costs. It enables shippers, logistic operators and policymakers to quantify the benefits of natural refrigerants ‒ propane (R290) and CO2 (R744) ‒ in reefers compared to synthetics, including R134a, R1234yf, R404A, R513A and R452A.
“Natural refrigerants can turn decarbonization into a strong business case,” said Gordon Wilmsmeier, Director of Hapag-Lloyd Center for Shipping and Global Logistics (CSGL) at Kühne Logistics University (KLU). “R290 in particular achieves CO2e reductions at a strongly negative abatement cost, indicating both environmental and economic benefits.”
The simulation tool was developed in collaboration with CSGL at KLU, with support from the International Climate Initiative and the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. Wilmsmeier showcased the simulator in an alliance webinar.
The details: The user selects the vessel IMO number, product, container size, cargo load, route and market prices. The simulator accounts for the product’s storage requirements, the route’s ambient temperature, the vessel’s technical specifications, the refrigerant charge and the leak rate.
- The simulator quantifies each refrigerant’s environmental impact, including greehnouse gas emissions (direct and indirect), TFA (trifluoroacetic acid) emissions and carbon abatement, defined as the avoided cost per kilogram of CO2e. TFA is an ultrashort-chain PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance), often referred to as a “forever chemical.”
- The model translates technical performance into monetary values, with a breakdown of total costs for each refrigerant.
An example: Wilmsmeier modeled shipping bananas from Guayaquil, Ecuador, to Hamburg, Germany, onboard the vessel Polar Ecuador (IMO 9786774). He put in average parameters for intercontinental shipping.
- R290 and CO2 eliminate TFA and direct GHG emissions.
- For the simulation, propane offers the most cost-effective refrigerated reefer.
- Compared to R290, annual costs per container were roughly $50 (€43) higher for CO2, $350 (€300) higher for R134a and R1234yf, $450 (€390) for R513A, $1,000 (€870) for R404A and $1,200 (€1,000) for R452A.
Making it possible: To accelerate the transition to natural refrigerant maritime shipping, the GIZ is supporting R290 reefer development and CO2 reefer training.
- In collaboration with the GIZ, Thermo King, a brand of Trane Technologies, will test a direct-expansion R290 proof-of-concept reefer in June with a Costa Rican fruit producer.
- The GIZ’s South Africa implementing partner, the National Ozone Unit of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, will conduct a five-day CO2 reefer training course in Cape Town from April 20‒24.
Quotable: “Current reefers use harmful synthetic refrigerants ‒ thousands of times worse for the climate [with] severe health risks from forever chemicals,” Wilmsmeier said. “By starting the transition now, the entire fleet of reefers can be safe, PFAS-free, and climate-friendly by 2040.”
“Natural refrigerants can turn decarbonization into a strong business case.”
Gordon Wilmsmeier, Director of CSGL at Kühne Logistics University
