Battle heats up for climate-friendly car air-conditioning

In March this year, US-based companies Honeywell and DuPont announced a joint venture to test, develop and commercialise an alternative to HFC134a that would come in time to meet the new EU standard in 2011.

The pair say that their extensive experience with existing refrigerant and cooling systems makes them natural champions to replace HFC134a with other fluorine-based alternatives at a low cost for carmakers.

"By leveraging DuPont and Honeywell resources, we can expedite product qualification and commercialisation to provide a new global industry solution in time to meet regulations," Honeywell and DuPont said in a statement on 29 March.

"We look forward to providing a near drop-in replacement that reduces the need for costly system redesign for the automotive industry. We will provide an environmentally friendlier, low-GWP solution without sacrificing comfort or reliability," added Terrence Hahn, vice-president and general manager for Honeywell's Fluorine Products business.

But their arguments are challenged by the Alliance for CO2 solutions, a group of German and scandinavian companies backed by environmental NGOs Greenpeace and Deutsche Umwelthilfe. The group argues that carbon dioxide is the ideal replacement for the climate-wrecking F-gases as it turns the problem, CO2 – itself a global warming gas - into the solution. Manufacturers in the Alliance include Ixetic, Konvekta, SINTEF and Shecco.

"From the perspective of environmental protection, we see CO2 technology as the only viable solution for car air conditioning", according to Jürgen Resch, Head of the German NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe, who says it could reduce global car emissions "by up to 10%."

According to the group, CO2 systems are a proven technology that is at the same time more environmentally-friendly and more cost-efficient than chemical refrigerants. 

The Alliance hopes that Europe’s current drive to cut its energy use and protect the climate will help it win the argument. "Most people don’t know that air-conditioning systems increase fuel consumption by as much as 20%," said Marc Chasserot, a lobbyist at the Alliance.

Moreover, he adds that the chemical blends currently under development are yet to be fully tested and have "unknown long-term consequences" on the environment. 

"Who knows whether a new phase out will not be necessary in two to three years," asked Chasserot, who added: "CO2 technology is the car industry's best insurance policy against future legislation."

But Sabine Chmielewski, director of communication at Honeywell's Specialty Materials unit in Europe, says that CO2-based systems are too costly. "CO2 systems are more expensive compared to today's 134a systems and will require significant changes to automobile design and engineering and capital investment by the automotive industry versus the near drop in replacement of our solutions."

The cost argument, however, is rejected by the Alliance. "As a refrigerant itself, CO2 is cheap and widely available. The servicing will also be much cheaper for the consumer, as the systems do not require complicated infrastructure to avoid leakage, as is the case with chemical alternatives."

Crucially, it says, costs will go down and will end up being "the same for current systems once they enter into mass production."

"An initial investment from carmakers in the order of €20 per unit is required," the Alliance argues.