By Sergei Mukminov, Editor-in-Chief, Refindustry The Danfoss Smart Store ADC in Nordborg. Source: Danfoss A/S. A Danish convenience store covered 100 percent of its heating demand from refrigeration waste heat through the coldest winter in more than a decade. Over two years of operation, the same site exported 36 MWh of surplus heat to its city's district network and saved close to €8,800 on heat it would otherwise have purchased from the same grid. The electricity penalty for delivering that heat was, in the operator's words, marginal.

The deadline that supermarkets faced to install new refrigeration systems running on low-GWP refrigerants was January 1, 2027. It is now January 1, 2032. On May 21, 2026, alongside President Trump in the Oval Office, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced final revisions to the 2023 Technology Transitions Rule and a proposed technical fix to the 2024 Emissions Reduction and Reclamation Rule. EPA put the combined savings at more than $2.4 billion, including over $800 million "at the supermarket." Within hours, HARDI countered with its own figure: the changes could add nearly $8 billion in r

Trevor Matthews did not plan a career in refrigeration, but after two decades working his way from installation crews to national trainer at Copeland, he founded Refrigeration Mentor to tackle the industry's most persistent problem: the skills gap that nobody has managed to close.  Ilana Koegelenberg spoke with Matthews for Refindustry about his journey into the industry, why he walked away from a corporate promotion to build something of his own, and what it will actually take to bring more people, and better training, into refrigeration.   Watch the full