After a long battle, Coca-Cola has finally accepted hydrocarbon refrigerants (R600a and R290)  as an available alternative to CO2.

The company’s initial target to be 100{16f5e1c19600e983ceea36c1bdb5f04aff25322491a3d5f5df4c9f19e07e1c0f} HFC-free by 2015 was met with many challenges: the difficulty of using CO2 compressors in small equipment, high costs, and noise. The news of their acceptance of hydrocarbons had brought a big relief to global manufacturers like Frigoglass, Klimasan, Imbera and Fogel who have been struggling to manufacture cost-effective small and mid-range beverage coolers in CO2.

The only concern with hydrocarbons has been safety. Europe is quite advanced in this respect, with almost 90{16f5e1c19600e983ceea36c1bdb5f04aff25322491a3d5f5df4c9f19e07e1c0f} of commercial beverage coolers being hydrocarbon, the service setup is well trained and accustomed to these refrigerants. America is also catching up fast, but work still needs to be done in Africa and Asia where there are still gaps and challenges. This decision will certainly boost hydrocarbon implementation activities in these regions.

This a big achievement because Coca-Cola is the leading beverage company and their target to be 100{16f5e1c19600e983ceea36c1bdb5f04aff25322491a3d5f5df4c9f19e07e1c0f} HFC-free in new equipment purchases at a global level may also inspire other beverage companies, and thus play a vital role towards a greener, cleaner and more sustainable future.