With significantly reduced global warming potential, new-generation refrigerant R-452A will become the standard for new Carrier Transicold transport refrigeration units in North America beginning in October.

“Carrier Transicold truck and trailer refrigeration units have been qualified for R‑452A since 2017, and it has been available as a customer-specified option for several years,” said Bill Maddox, senior manager of product management for Carrier Transicold, in a press release. “R‑452A is already standard with some of our newer units, and we’re pleased to expand this standardization to the broader array of Carrier Transicold products, effectively halving the refrigerant [global warming potential] of our transport refrigeration offerings.”

Later this year, R-452A with a global warming potential of 2,140, will become the standard refrigerant for all Carrier Transicold models that currently use R-404A, which has a global warming potential of 3,922.

The timing of the transition will help California customers placing orders for 2023, according to the company. The California Air Resources Board this year approved a measure requiring all new transport refrigeration units placed into service in 2023 to use a refrigerant with a global warming potential of less than 2,200.

In 2025, Canada will require refrigerants with a global warming potential of less than 2,200 in new transport refrigeration units, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Kigali Agreement of the Montreal Protocol.

Previously, there was a significant cost differential between the new and traditional refrigerants, however over the last several years that has diminished with changing demand and refrigerant production trends, helping to encourage adoption of the more sustainable R-452A, company officials said.

Maddox added some customers may consider switching refrigerants for units already in service, noting that with relative ease, Carrier Transicold customers can transition newer existing equipment from R-404A to R-452A. Unlike some competitive systems that require replacement of a thermal expansion valve when converting, late-model Carrier Transicold systems – those with an electronic expansion valve – require a software upgrade along with purging the R-404A and replacing it with R-452A. On Carrier Transicold truck units and older trailer units that use a mechanical expansion valve, the valve will require a manual adjustment or, in some cases, replacement based on the age of the model.

Standardizing on lower global warming potential refrigerants is part of Carrier’s commitment to reducing its customers' carbon footprint by more than one gigaton, while also achieving carbon neutral operations by 2030, as outlined in its Environmental, Social and Governance Goals.