The Cool Up Programme, part of the German government’s International Climate Initiative, and the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) recently hosted a natural refrigerants training event for technicians in Ankara, Turkey.
The content: The training was both practical and theoretical in nature, and the topics covered included the features, applications, safety measures and service procedures of natural refrigerant systems.
- Cool Up told NaturalRefrigerants.com that the said the trainings, which were also offered to manufacturers, focused on refrigeration and cooling equipment using CO2 (R744) and “flammable natural refrigerant alternatives.”
- Cool Up specified that “special attention” was given to national regulations, risk mitigation, including “addressing potential risks such as ignition sources and refrigerant leakage;” and best practices in technical services.
The need for training: METRO, an international food wholesaler, highlighted the need for natural refrigerants training in Turkey during a March 2024 interview with NaturalRefrigerants.com.
- Olaf Schulze, Director of Energy Management and Real Estate Sustainability at METRO Properties, said a shortage of trained technicians has prevented the company from installing CO2(R744) refrigeration systems at its stores in the country.
- “Our local team did not find an installer who is able to install CO2 technology or offer solid maintenance and repair [M&R],” said Schulze, who noted that the company did plan to install plug-in R290 freezers in its Turkey stores.
- Cool Up said seven trainings have been held in Turkey in 2024.
Turkey in transition: Turkey ratified the Kigali Amendment in 2021, and in October the Turkish Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change implemented a new f-gas regulation it said “has been prepared within the framework of harmonization with the European Union legislation.”
- The new regulation addresses labeling, leakage control and mandatory training for personnel managing fluorinated gases but does not make any mention of f-gas bans.
A global effort: In addition to Cool Up and the UNDP, many other organizations are hosting natural refrigerant training events for technicians in emerging markets for these systems.
- Commercial refrigeration systems manufacturer Epta opened a new CO2 training center in Manila, the Philippines, in October 2024 to serve the APAC region.
- The GIZ, through its Green Cooling Initiative (GCI), conducted a series of R290 training courses in Vietnam during the summer of 2024.
- Carrier and the GIZ, a German international development organization, established the “first-ever” East African transcritical CO2 training center in October 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya.
This story has been updated with additional information from the Cool Up Programme.
