hydrocarbons21.com: Now that the 3 hydrocarbons have received SNAP approval for household and small commercial stand-alone refrigerators and freezers in the US, it seems to be the perfect time to hold an event focusing only on natural refrigerants. Do you think this will change the US market and will this be a hot topic at the event?

Marc Chasserot: Yes of course, discussions about the SNAP rulings for hydrocarbons will be key to the success of ATMOsphere America.

At shecco, we have been working with natural refrigerants for the last 10 years and we believe that 2012 is really going to be the year of natural refrigerants, especially in North America where both the growing interest in CO₂ applications in commercial refrigeration and more importantly the SNAP rulings for hydrocarbons for use in household and small commercial stand-alone refrigerators and freezers are going to be real game changers.

We have been preparing this American event for a couple of years now, talking with many of our partners and clients in the U.S and we are fully aware that this will be the first time that such an event is organised in North America. We feel now is the right time to do this. We are expecting some major announcements for the North American market between now and ATMOsphere America that will only confirm this trend.

16 sponsors are supporting us already: Hill Phoenix, Mayekawa, CSC Smart Ref, Danfoss, Bitzer, Carnot Refrigeration, Emerson, Linde, Dorin, EcoThermics, Parker-Sporlan, Temprite, Star Refrigeration, Obrist Engineering, GEA and Alfa Laval. Judging on the high interest from companies to sponsor and attend the event, we see that a clear sign that ATMOsphere America 2012 is an industry-backed event and that this is a hot topic right now.

hydrocarbons21.com: What will be the main focus of the workshop and what are you trying to achieve with ATMOsphere America?

Marc Chasserot: As with any other business, you have to have a business case. And we feel that the natural refrigerant market is growing. The technologies have now reached maturity in many markets, so we see a high potential for not just saving the environment but actually also making money using hydrocarbon technology. That’s why we chose the tagline: The Business Case for Natural Refrigerants in North America.

We want to achieve recognition that natural refrigerants are here to stay and have a role to play in the market. It is not just Europe and Asia showing interest in the technology we firmly believe that North America is seriously looking into natural refrigerants as a business opportunity. Many of the world’s leading companies see natural refrigerant as a commercial opportunity not only for the North America but also for North American companies to build business outside North America.

By bringing all these people together, we will help to speed that process up and every year we can report on progress. With ATMOsphere America we help experts to network, to share best practices and to learn from each other.

hydrocarbons21.com: What will be the main program highlights of ATMOsphere America for hydrocarbons?

Marc Chasserot: We will have several particularly interesting sessions regarding hydrocarbons, such as the regulatory session. This will include different speakers from federal agencies who will talk about the SNAP rulings and the Montreal Protocol, as well as a speaker from the Underwriters’ Laboratory who will talk about the different standards in place and concrete markets for natural refrigerants, and more. In addition, we are in discussions with a leading training company to present relevant safety and training issues for hydrocarbons at ATMOsphere America 2012.

Besides this, we will have two end user panels where retailers and consumer brands, some of the key supplier clients, will be at ATMOsphere to explain their experiences with natural refrigerants, both postive and negative. Representatives from the big consumer brands like Coca Cola, Pepsico or Ben & Jerry’s will explain what they have learned from their use of natural refrigerants in different situations, with different temperatures or in different applications. In addition, we will have an end user panel focusing on supermarkets where we have for example Fresh & Easy, Whole Foods, Sobeys and Delhaize America presenting.

Our technology case study sessions, on both afternoons, will provide North American companies with the opportunity to demonstrate how using hydrocarbons in North America can be good for business.

Market trends will also be discussed in the opening State of the Industry session where different leading companies will present their market projections for natural refrigerants. For example, a Workshop session will discuss the barriers and the solutions to bring natural refrigerants faster to North America and a 10-point action plan will be discussed with all participants.

hydrocarbons21.com: How will you make sure that the results lead to concrete actions after the conference?

Marc Chasserot: The 10-point action plan is one of the concrete deliverables of this event. One workshop session is dedicated to discussing a roadmap for natural refrigerants in North America. We will make sure that all the participants who attend the event receive an executive summary and are able to comment on it. We will regularly report on its development and use it as a basis for the next event we organise. We will put all our efforts into implement every action listed or into finding the most relevant partners to implement them. We hope that year after year we will be able to demonstrate progress.

hydrocarbons21.com: Who do you expect to attend your ATMOsphere America 2012? Can I also come if I do not have much experience with natural refrigerants?

Marc Chasserot: Yes, definitely. We know that in North America the level of awareness is maybe not as high for everybody as in other parts of the world, so the focus of ATMOsphere America is also to help bring others up to speed.

We expect many companies to attend that have not necessarily been visible in the field so far but which are maybe planning to get involved. We go to many trade events in the U.S where, we talk to our US clients and they have confirmed that there are many developments in the pipeline for systems using hydrocarbons.

ATMOsphere America 2012 will be held in Washington, 12-13 June. Registrations are open and can be accessed at http://www.atmo.org/events.registration.php
A call for technology case studies presenting successful examples with hydrocarbons applications is still open. The deadline for application is 15 March.

About shecco

shecco is a B2B Marketing & Communications expert helping companies worldwide to bring their climate friendly solutions faster to market. shecco’s primary focus is to facilitate the market uptake of heating and cooling solutions based on natural refrigerants.