News
Article from R744.com (published on February 27, 2023)
At this years EuroShop in Dusseldorf, TEKO has renewed the Natural Refrigerants Label from ATMOsphere, a global market accelerator of clean cooling and heating solutions, and publisher of R744.com.
ATMOsphere (formerly shecco) launched the “ATMO Approved” label last June as a global gold standard highlighting best-in-class manufacturers of natural refrigerant systems and components around the world. TEKO was initially granted the label last August, becoming the first company to be so recognized.
“We are happy to be reapproved as one of the best-in-class manufacturers in natural refrigerants,” said Andreas Meier, Managing Director of TEKO. “I think it’s a very important label to show end users our commitment to natural refrigerants.”
In re-approving the label, ATMOsphere has determined that the climate mitigation impact of TEKO’s natural refrigerant products, in terms of the reduction of CO2 emissions, increased by 15.5% in 2022 over 2021.
What is the ATMOsphere Natural Refrigerants Label?
The ATMOsphere label is designed to help qualified manufacturers to market products to new customers and regions in the natural refrigerants marketplace, including products using CO2 and ammonia. In addition, the label is meant to help end users to identify best-in-class suppliers.
“The label will be very visible in the global marketplace, and companies can take advantage of this to strengthen their brand,” noted Marc Chasserot, ATMOsphere Founder and CEO. “By being global and multi-application, this label can help to create trust across the new applications and regions,” added Chasserot. “We want to use this multi-year label process to help move the market to cleaner solutions with natural refrigerant solutions over time.”
Meier said that TEKO initially applied for the label “because we believe that if you show dedication towards natural refrigerants, it should be neutrally validated. Not only words, reality counts.”
TEKO goes natural since 2012
Over the past decade TEKO has completely transformed its commercial and industrial refrigeration offering, mostly transitioning from super-polluting f-gases like R22 to natural refrigerants like CO2, ammonia and hydrocarbons. This mirrors Meier’s view that “the future is natural.”
TEKO offers a wide range of transcritical CO2 systems under its ROXSTA series, from small, space-saving units for discount shops to large models with a peak capacity of 640 kW (182TR) for cooling industrial goods. Its system are regulated by controls from long-term partner Wurm Electronic Systems.
According to data presented by Meier during an interview with Chasserot on March 30, 2022, at ATMOsphere’s ATMO World Summit, around 96% of TEKO’s retail applications in 2021 utilized CO2 as a refrigerant, up from around 14% in 2012, when most of its applications were f-gas-based. To date (2023-02-27), 6,960 TEKO CO2 systems are in use worldwide, according to the company’s website.
Meier attributed TEKO’s shift to natural refrigerants to the EU’s F-gas Regulation and to end users’ desire to have future-proof systems.
ATMOsphere Natural Refrigerants Label – Three pillars
To qualify for an ATMOsphere label, manufacturers have to demonstrate excellence across three pillars:
- Company vision
- Customer satisfaction (measured via testimonials from multiple end users confirming the reliability, performance and service of these companies and products)
- Measurable impact
In regard to TEKO, one customer representative, Jan Geeraerts, Head of Engineering for Carrefour Belgium, commented that a TEKO installation “has an even better performance than initially thought,” adding, “The commissioning and ‘fine-tuning’ on site were carried out by very capable people and with the necessary care.”
Companies can apply for the label on the label’s webpage.
ATMOsphere has been active in the natural refrigerant space for nearly 20 years. During this time, the company has:
- Published dozens of natural refrigerant-related market reports on market players, technologies, and solutions worldwide across multiple applications
- Hosted over 60 international natural refrigerant conferences, bringing together thousands of experts and hundreds of speakers over nearly 15 years, covering all the latest trends and players
- Written thousands of articles reporting on natural refrigerant companies and products in the industry
- Sent representatives to hundreds of trade shows around the world, meeting with natural refrigerant experts face-to-face (in addition to countless individual meetings outside official events)
“We feel that, as an independent player with a global mindset and a global presence, across all natural refrigerants and multiple applications, we are very well suited to provide this level of approval for the label,” explained Chasserot.
Sarah Schröter