The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has secured $14 million (€12.2 million) to phase out f-gases worldwide, an effort that includes projects to transition to natural refrigerants.
The funding is intended to help developing countries that are signatories to the Montreal Protocol, also known as Article 5 countries, reduce their f-gas emissions. The 43 approved projects will be implemented across 22 countries and target both HCFCs and HFCs.
Developments in Brazil: UNIDO is funding a project that encourages companies in the industrial refrigeration sector to adopt ammonia (R717)-based systems and pair them with high-temperature hydrocarbon heat pumps to recover waste heat.
- In February 2026, Brazil presented its strategy to reduce the consumption of HFCs, focusing on regulatory measures and energy-efficient refrigerants, as well as the safe and efficient use of natural refrigerants.
- The country announced the opening of its first natural refrigerant training laboratory at the FARPO-ETP technical school in Curitiba in July 2025.
Ecuador’s HFC transition: The country will host a pilot project for energy efficiency and HFC conversion at a leading shrimp exporter’s refrigeration facility. UNIDO said the project could be replicated at around 75 similar industrial facilities in the country.
- In 2025, SCM Frigo installed a 6MW (1,700TR) transcritical CO2 refrigeration system in an Ecuadorian shrimp processing plant.
- Propane (R290) is also part of Ecuador’s natural refrigerant pilot projects. In 2025 a fish processing center in Manta and a food bank in Quito, both operated by La Fabril, were swapping their R22 and R507 chillers, respectively, for R290 chillers.
Gone fishing in Morocco: In Morocco the entire fisheries cold chain is set to transition “to more sustainable solutions,” according to UNIDO, which includes fishing vessel retrofits and the use of ammonia for freezing catches. A national refrigerant reclamation center will also be established.
- In June 2025, Norway was testing the viability of a subcritical CO2-based system to reduce food waste on small fishing vessels. A CO2 prototype with a cooling capacity of 8.5kW (2.4TR) allowed for the live storage of marine catches in a tank.
- A 2024 study on the Indian fishing industry found that an ammonia/CO2 cascade blast freezer had a 35% higher COP than a comparable system using R404A.
Quotable: “The true value of these projects is in the industrial transformation they trigger,” said Alois Mhlanga, Director of Climate Innovation and Montreal Protocol division, in a statement. “Once industry is aware of the technological options and pathways, thanks to our work under the Montreal Protocol, it starts investing its own resources in the sector to remain competitive and maintain market share.”
