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IGSD statement on the new AGC refrigerant called AMOLEA™

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Washington, DC, 31 March 2014 – The Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) congratulates the chemists and managers at Asahi Glass Company (ASC) for their new refrigerant that has equal energy efficiency with a GWP about 1/6th that of the status quo hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-410a (IPCC 5th Assessment Report 100-year GWP=1923) and about 1/3rd of the GWP of HFC-32 (AR5 GWP100 yr =677), which is the alternative-of-choice for room air conditioners too large to safely use a hydrocarbon refrigerant (HC)-290 (GWP <5).

“This achievement demonstrates that leadership companies can and are stepping up to climate protection,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of IGSD. “AGC was a leader 30 years ago when we needed replacements for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and now they are once again providing leadership for future generations with new technology that is safer for climate.”

“Amending the Montreal Protocol to phase-down high-GWP HFCs will stimulate more and more innovations like this one from AGC,” said Durwood. “The companies that protected the ozone layer are now also helping protect the climate.”

The new AGC refrigerant AMOLEA™ is a near drop-in replacement for hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-22 (AR5 GWP100 yr =1760) being phased out under the Montreal Protocol and for HFC-410a being phased down by the European Union and Japan and proposed for phase-down globally under the Montreal Protocol. Products with superior climate performance will enter American markets rapidly as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) implements President Obama’s Climate Action Plan by removing environmentally inferior refrigerants like HFC-410a from the list of chemicals allowed under the US EPA Significant New Alternatives Policy Program (SNAP).

AMOLEA™ will compete with HFC-32 for medium- and large-size room A/C where the refrigerant charge of highly flammable natural refrigerants would be too large to be safe and in markets where safety standards and building codes have not yet been modified to allow HC-290 (propane) as a refrigerant in the small room A/Cs where they are considered safe.

AMOLEA’S™ innovative ingredient is hydrofluoroolefin (HFO)-1123. AGC is completing the final stages of toxicity, safety and energy efficiency performance testing and plans to begin global marketing of the new refrigerant in 2016.