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 SURE Solutions, a U.K.-based industrial refrigeration contractor.
This marks the second approval for the company, which was first certified in December 2023. SURE Solutions was the first contractor to receive the ATMO Approved Natural Refrigerants Label.
“We are honored to be re-approved by ATMOsphere as a ‘best in class’ natural refrigerants company,” said Managing Director Gary Shaw. “This recognition underscores our commitment to advancing sustainable cooling solutions. As we continue to innovate with natural refrigerants, we are not only reducing our environmental footprint but also contributing significantly to global climate mitigation efforts. Our journey reflects a dedication to excellence and a vision for a greener future.”
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.
Industrial food processing
SURE Solutions specializes in CO2 (R744) and ammonia (R717) systems for the meat processing, dairy, food and beverage, cold storage and distribution, blast freezing, HVAC and comfort-cooling industries.
SURE Solutions services include design, implementation and commissioning, from the redesign of existing systems through to full-scale new factory builds. It offers planned maintenance contracts, including reactive service and year-round, 24-hour support as well as access to a wide range of manufacturer components and refrigerants.
One of SURE’s most-notable recent projects was for Cranswick Country Foods, based in Hessle, United Kingdom, one of the country’s leading producers of high-end pork and poultry products. SURE worked with Cranswick to build a poultry processing plant in Hull, U.K., that makes use of ammonia heat pump and refrigeration technologies. The factory includes a two-story production facility and a three-story service center and measures around 6,000m2 (64,583ft2).
A central ammonia system, in concert with an integrated heat pump, serves all of the refrigeration, cooling and heating loads at a total capacity in excess of 3MW (853TR), covering varying system operational temperatures from −43°C (−45°F) up to 125°C (257°F). The system has a total refrigerant charge of 4,000kg.
Simon Thomas, Chief Engineering/Projects Manager at Cranswick, worked with SURE on the installation of two of the plant’s blast freezers and called it an “excellent system.”
“They fully installed and commissioned the system to a high standard,” said Simon. We had a full O&M manual and training on site to use the system and have not encountered any problems. It has run really efficiently.”
Quantifying PFAS
A notable addition to the label criteria for 2025 is the focus on eliminating PFAS, including trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a byproduct of the atmospheric degradation of many HFO and HFC refrigerants. Research has linked TFA to environmental accumulation and potential health risks, including reproductive toxicity and liver dysfunction in animal studies.
In November 2024, ATMOsphere opened registration for the 2025 label, announcing the calculation of the amount of TFA emissions avoided by certified companies through their natural refrigerant solutions. TFA is a PFAS, also known as a “forever chemical,” that forms through the atmospheric degradation of many HFOs as well as R134a.
This addition to the label criteria aligns with recent research highlighting TFA as a “planetary boundary threat” due to its potential risks to human and environmental health.
“The label criteria around PFAS acknowledges what companies are doing to ensure they are PFAS-free,” said Marc Chasserot, CEO and Founder of ATMOsphere. “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.”
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.
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.
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.
SURE Solutions is the seventh company to be approved for the ATMO Approved label in 2025, following Equans Kältetechnik, Refra, GTS, 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.
