Honeywell announced that Sun Art Retail, a leading Chinese retailer with hypermarkets and high-growth e-commerce businesses, has used Honeywell's low global warming potential (GWP) Solstice® N40 (R-448A) refrigerant to replace R-404A in its Auchan Jinji Lake store in Suzhou to improve the energy efficiency of the refrigeration system.
In order to meet the requirements of the Kigali Amendment on the phased reduction of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and respond to the Chinese government's initiative to save energy and reduce emissions, many domestic retailers are actively looking for reliable, practical and carbon footprint-reducing alternative solutions. Since its release in 2015, Honeywell Solstice® N40 has been widely adopted by the global supermarket industry as a refrigerant product that replaces R-404A and has a lower GWP value. More than 30,000 supermarkets around the world have chosen Honeywell Solstice® N40 refrigerant, including Auchan and RT-Mart in China, Tesco Lotus in Thailand, and MaxValu and 7-11 in Japan.
Solstice® N40 is a practical and economical choice that helps companies reduce costs while supporting sustainable operations. This solution not only allows us to meet the requirements of existing and proposed regulations in the Chinese market, but also enhances our profitability and contributes to environmental sustainability.
—— Yuan Jiandong, Energy Saving Specialist at Sun Art Retail
Sun Art Retail Group operates hypermarket business with two well-known brands, Auchan and RT-Mart. Last year, RT-Mart announced plans to gradually promote Solstice® N40 to more than 100 stores across the country in the next three years. Auchan Jinji Lake store is the supermarket store with the highest floor space efficiency under Sun Art Retail. After the renovation is completed, the new system is expected to help Auchan Jinji Lake store's refrigeration system improve energy efficiency by 10% to 15%.
Solstice® N40 is based on hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) technology, with a GWP value of about 68% lower than traditional HFC refrigerants (such as R-404A) and lower energy consumption. Actual applications in supermarkets in the United States and Europe have shown that Solstice® N40 can reduce energy consumption in refrigeration applications by an average of 5% to 15% compared to R-404A. It can be used for both new equipment and retrofitting existing systems. Systems currently using high GWP refrigerants such as R-404A and R-507 can be retrofitted with only minor adjustments.
Auchan is a subsidiary of Sun Art Retail Group, one of China's leading hypermarket operators, with 486 stores in 232 cities across 29 provinces and autonomous regions in China as of the end of 2019. In 2017, Auchan became a member of the Alibaba Group Holding ecosystem.
Honeywell is a global leader in the development, manufacture and supply of refrigerants. Its Solstice® and Genetron® brands of refrigerants are widely used in refrigeration, building and automotive air conditioning around the world. Honeywell is working with its suppliers to invest $900 million in the development and production of hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) technology.
The article is reprinted from Honeywell Connected Industry and Environmental Protection Official Account.
