Industrial and commercial refrigeration manufacturer RefPlus recently installed its first CO2 (R744) condensing unit in a Quebec facility, according to Rémi Dion, Sales and Marketing Director.
The Canadian company’s second installation is on the way, with a unit already shipped to the U.S. for a Vermont client, Dion told NaturalRefrigerants.com at the Refrigerating Engineers and Technicians Association (RETA) Conference, held October 21‒24 in Grapevine, Texas. Dion did not share details about the end user in Quebec or Vermont.
RefPlus built the prototype for its CO2 condensing unit in 2023. The new line offers operations for low-temperature (LT) applications between −25 and −15°F (−31.7 and −26.1°C) with capacities ranging from 63‒379MBH (19‒111kW/5.3‒31.6TR); medium-temperature (MT) applications between 15 and 25°F (−9.4 and −3.9°C) with capacities from 85‒711MBH (25‒209kW/7.1‒59.3TR); and high-temperature between 30 and 40°F (−1.1 and 4.4°C) with capacities from 113‒740MBH (33‒217kW/9.4‒61.7TR).
“We are thrilled with the move RefPlus has made towards natural refrigerants,” Dion said, adding that the company plans to celebrate its 30th anniversary with an event on November 21 at its new factory dedicated to producing CO2 equipment.
Dion said the new facility in Saint-Hubert, Quebec, provides manufacturing space for RefPlus and its subsidiary, Ceptek. Ceptek, acquired by RefPlus in 2023, produces CO2 equipment for industrial applications.
New products in 2024
RefPlus launched its first-ever CO2 rack with parallel compression for commercial and industrial applications earlier this year. The rack comes with up to eight semi-hermetic compressors controlled by a variable frequency drive and offers LT application with a saturated suction temperature (SST) down to −20°F (−28.9°C) at a maximum capacity of 830MBH (243kW/69.2TR) and MT with an SST up to 25°F at a maximum capacity of 1,540MBH (451kW/128.3TR).
“This CO2 series has been designed to meet the refrigeration needs of food processing plants and refrigerated warehouses, including fast freezing,” RefPlus said in a product brochure.
Ceptek also released a new product this year, a CO2 high-temperature heat pump. The unit designed for hydronic heating systems can extract heat from air, water or ground sources to produce up to 160°F (71.1°C) outlet water, with a COP of up to 4.1.
According to Ceptek, the custom-built system can provide heating, cooling and hot water with up to 2MW (569TR) of heating capacity, using inlet source temperatures ranging from 10 to 80°F (−12 to 27°C). When connected in parallel, the modular units offer higher capacities.
“The future of commercial and industrial heating belongs to green technologies,” Ceptek said. “Heat pumps, using a wide range of energy sources, offer unmatched energy efficiency, durability and low operating costs.”
