Kenya has launched a national and regional Training of Trainers (ToT) program focused on climate- and environmentally friendly split air conditioning systems using R290 refrigerant. The sessions were held in August 2025 at The Nairobi National Polytechnic, as part of the GRACE Project, bringing together around 30 refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) trainers from Kenyan institutions and eight other African countries.
The two one-week training sessions addressed the safe handling of R290 (classified as A3/A2L), with the aim of enabling participants to transfer knowledge to technicians in their home institutions. Topics included safety procedures during installation, servicing, and decommissioning of systems using flammable refrigerants.
Participants reported increased confidence in managing R290 systems. Judith Cherono, a RAC trainer and participant, said: “This training on handling of R290 ACs has been very beneficial because there has been so much anxiety on how the refrigerant would be handled given its flammability characteristics, but now the fear is gone and the technicians I will be training will adequately receive the same knowledge.”
The GRACE Project is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), and is implemented by GIZ Proklima.