International. Thermo King announced that it will transition to a lower global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant as standard in its truck and trailer units. This will reduce the carbon footprint of refrigerants used by its customers' long-haul, half-mile and last-mile delivery fleets by almost 50% or approximately 650,000 metric tons of CO2e annually, equivalent to the emissions of 143,000 passenger vehicles per year.
While customers previously had the option of placing the refrigerant with the lowest global warming potential, Thermo King units will now come standard with R452A refrigerant.
The next generation of Thermo King's Precedent® trailer portfolio will transition to low GWP refrigerant (R452A) in January 2022, and truck products will come standard with the new refrigerant in mid-2022. The new units will no longer use R404A. These actions contribute to Trane Technologies' Gigaton Challenge to reduce customer emissions by one billion metric tons by 2030.
"Our entire company strategy is focused on sustainability and we are committed to providing innovative solutions to customers that create value for their operations and are better for the planet," said Karin De Bondt, president of Thermo King Americas. "Improvements to our trailer and truck units are important to decarbonize refrigerated fleets that deliver vital cargo, including food and medicine, to people around the world."
In addition to helping customers meet their sustainability commitments, using a refrigerant with a lower GWP as standard will help customers prepare for future regulations. Beginning in 2023, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will require TRU operating in California to use refrigerants with a GWP of 2200 or less. In North America, Thermo King is one year ahead of this regulation.
As part of the global transition to more sustainable refrigerants, Thermo King has been using R452A for its entire EMEA portfolio for several years and select products in North America and Asia Pacific.
