Latin America. For some of its stores located in Mexico and Central America, Walmart will use Honeywell's potentially reduced global warming refrigerant, Solstice N40 (R-448A).
The project will cover more than 160 new refrigeration systems for supermarkets in the region, and help Walmart reduce its carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency. This project represents a potential reduction of 130 thousand metric tons of CO2e.
Based on hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) technology, Solstice N40 offers a global warming potential (GWP), approximately 68% lower than hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants such as R-404A. Solstice N40 is the non-flammable substitute for R-404A with the lowest GWP and most accepted in the supermarket industry with around 60 thousand installations worldwide, since its launch in 2015.
Food retailers around the world have adopted Solstice N40 as an aid to comply with proposed and current regulations, with the aim of reducing the use of high GWP HFCs, including the internationally adopted Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
Walmart has addressed the climate crisis with the goal of achieving zero carbon emissions in its global operations by 2040 without relying on carbon offsets. Its goal of being a regenerative enterprise includes transitioning to low-impact refrigerants for cooling and electrified heating equipment in its stores, clubs, data centers and distribution centers.
"With the adoption of Solstice N40, Walmart of Mexico and Central America joins the set of industries that endorse this solution: a cost-effective refrigerant with global warming reduction potential that meets high standards of performance and energy efficiency in commercial refrigeration," said José Fernandes, vice president and general manager of Performance Materials and Technologies for Honeywell Latin America. "We are proud to help Walmart meet its sustainability goals, which are aligned with Honeywell's own commitment to carbon neutrality."
Solstice N40 offers a GWP that is approximately 68% lower than that of legacy HFC refrigerants. In addition, it consumes less energy. In U.S. and European supermarket tests, which compared the Solstice N40 to the R-404A, Solstice N40 refrigeration systems demonstrated a lower average energy consumption between 5% and 15% compared to the R-404A.
Honeywell's Solstice technology, which is used in various applications, has prevented the potential release equivalent to more than 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, resembling the elimination of potential emissions from more than 52 million cars over a year.
Solstice helps customers reduce their carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency without sacrificing the performance of the final product. This technology also includes air conditioners for cars and trucks, foaming agents for insulation, propellants for personal and home care and solvents for cleaning solutions. For more than a decade, Honeywell has invested a billion dollars in research, development and new capabilities for the technology, as it anticipated the need for solutions with a lower GWP to combat climate change.
Approximately half of Honeywell's investment in research and development for new product introductions is aimed at generating solutions that improve environmental and social outcomes for customers. This aligns with the company's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality in its facilities and operations by 2035, building on its track record of strong greenhouse gas reductions, as well as its decades-long track record of innovation to help its customers meet their social and environmental goals.
Walmart de México y Centroamérica (MBV/BIVA: Walmex) is a retail company that works every day with the purpose of helping people save money and live better. As reported in its most recent financial results (third quarter of 2021), Walmex operates 3,569 stores and clubs in the region, and 31 distribution centers, with a presence in 690 cities in six countries and more than 230,600 employees.
