The increase in the prices of basic chemical raw materials to manufacture refrigerant gases, the significant increases in shipping costs for maritime transport, the limited availability of containers and the high cost of road transport are some of the elements of the "perfect storm" which is affecting the prices and availability of HFC gases, essential for the operation of many refrigeration facilities.
In this context, AEFYT, the Association of Cold Companies and their Technologies, recommends to its associates to accelerate the measures for saving and reusing refrigerant gases in a migration towards solutions that increase energy efficiency. Promote the regeneration of refrigerant gases so that the raw material in existing facilities are the gases already used, migrate to fluids with lower GWP to offset the extra cost of the Tax on Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases and develop investment plans that aim to minimize Gas leaks and promoting savings in gas consumption with leakage control measures are some of the solutions that, in the opinion of the representative association of the cold sector in Spain, could help to improve the situation.
“We have to make the effort to turn the difficult situation that the cold sector is going through, and the industrial sector as a whole, into an opportunity to move decisively and faster towards the ecological transition. This has been started for a long time, but now, for many companies, it can be the difference between remaining in the market or not and, in addition, it is a great opportunity to make customers-cold users understand that we are an ally to fulfill their own energy and economic objectives ”, said Susana Rodríguez, president of AEFYT.
The "perfect storm" has other elements that aggravate the situation. China is planning technical shutdowns to reduce CO2 emissions from its industries, which is reducing the supply of gases at a time when Chinese manufacturers have had to renew their export licenses, also causing bureaucratic bottlenecks. On the other side of the world, in the US, the amendment of the Kigali agreement due to the climate requires the application of an import quota policy as of January 1, 2022 and this has caused an increase in demand, along with an increase in prices.
All this implies an increase in the prices of refrigerant gases of between 30 and 60 percent, with no signs that the situation may improve until April or May 2022, depending on the demand in Europe and the situation in China. . "Despite this, the different links in the cold value chain are making great efforts not to affect the rise in prices on the market, although the consequences could be noticed shortly," said Susana Rodríguez. “That is why it is even more urgent to tackle a broad green transition in the refrigeration sector,” she added.
