Upcoming Singapore NatRefs Seminar Aimed at Solving ‘Cooling Crisis’

Cooling Energy Science and Technology Singapore (CoolestSG), a Singapore-based consortium aiming to help solve the country’s “cooling crisis” through the development and commercialization of efficient cooling technologies, will be holding a seminar titled “Natural Refrigerant Alternatives in Singapore” on November 29 at the National University of Singapore.

The first half of the seminar will focus on “the opportunities and challenges in adopting natural refrigerants with some focus on R744 [CO₂] in the context of Singapore and Southeast Asia,” according to a press release issued by CoolestSG. The second half will highlight “three case studies using CO₂ as [a] refrigerant for combined hot water and cooling systems in Singapore.”

Speaking in the first part of the program is Dr. Victor Nian, Senior Research Fellow of the Energy Studies Institute at the National University of Singapore.

Natural refrigerant systems are increasingly being seen as a sustainable solution for Singapore as well as Southeast Asia as a whole. With the implementation of the Kigali Amendment to phase down HFCs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, “natural refrigerant options especially R744 (CO2) and R290 (propane) in the HVAC&R industry regained strong momentum,” the press release said. This is important because “under the present economic and climate development objectives, the HVAC&R industry in Southeast Asia is quickly running out of cost-effective options to meet those objectives.”

Combined heating and cooling

The second half of the seminar will focus on the hotel industry. which still uses “natural gas or diesel fuel boilers to generate hot water.”

As an alternative, it will discuss “the benefits of combining hot water systems and cooling systems into one system, also referred to as Combined Heating and Cooling Technology (CHCT) and whenever possible, using natural refrigerants.” The speaker will be Jean-Marie Martineau, Technical Director of Singapore-based Energeia Technologies.

The seminar will be held at National University of Singapore (NUS) Enterprise, NUS’s center for innovation and entrepreneurship. For more information on the event, see here.

CoolestSG was formed in 2018 as “a platform for industry partners and research performers to interact and work together,” according to the CoolestSG website. Its formation was announced officially by Chan Chun Sing, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry at the Opening Ceremony of the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) on October 30, 2018. CoolestSG is hosted within the National University of Singapore.