ATMOsphere announced the winners of the 2025 ATMO Awards/North America during a ceremony held on June 11 at the ATMOsphere America Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. The awards recognize outstanding achievements in the development and implementation of natural refrigerant-based HVAC&R systems.
Three awards were presented in the categories of Retail End User, Innovation of the Year, and Person of the Year. The recipients were Costco, Bitzer, and Gary Schrift of the International Institute of All-Natural Refrigeration (IIAR), respectively.
Costco received the Best-in-Sector/Retail End User award for its efforts in adopting natural refrigerant systems. The company installed 30 transcritical CO2 (R744) systems between fiscal years 2022 and 2024 across both new and existing locations. These installations include sites in the U.S., Canada and Australia.
According to its “Energy and Refrigeration” report, Costco is using CO2 as the primary refrigerant in new warehouses where feasible and is retrofitting existing stores with lower-GWP refrigerants. Additional initiatives include piloting energy audits, collaborating with the NASRC through the R-TRADE program to train 15,000 technicians by 2027, and testing leak detection systems. The company also operates hybrid cooling systems in warm climates and applies Energy Star benchmarking.
Bitzer received the Innovation of the Year award for its Fender Software platform. The tool enables the creation of “digital twins” to support system planning and operation. It assists with sizing and selecting Bitzer components such as compressors, ammonia (R717) compressor packs, heat exchangers and motors.
The software allows users to store system data, analyze refrigerant flow, configure component setups, and evaluate fluid dynamics through sizing tools. Designs can be saved for collaboration and future reference. Bitzer’s Joe Sanchez, VP of Engineering, accepted the award.
Gary Schrift, President of the IIAR, was honored as Person of the Year for his leadership in broadening the organization’s focus from ammonia to all natural refrigerants. Under Schrift, the IIAR changed its name in 2023 to the International Institute of All-Natural Refrigeration and expanded its activities to include commercial refrigeration.
Since 2020, Schrift has overseen the creation of a CO2 safety standard and initiated work on hydrocarbon standards. He has maintained IIAR’s annual conference as a major event and addressed key regulatory topics, including PFAS-related issues. At the 2025 IIAR event, environmental attorney Robert Bilott gave a keynote on PFAS risks linked to refrigerants. Schrift was represented by Eric Smith, VP & Technical Director of IIAR, at the awards ceremony.