AIRAH News

COUNTDOWN TO THE COOL CONFERENCE

AIRAH’s Refrigeration Conference will make its highly anticipated return from May 17–18.

After postponing one of its most popular events due to coronavirus restrictions last year, AIRAH has rescheduled its Refrigeration Conference from May 17–18 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.

Besides reviving physical networking opportunities, Refrigeration 2021 is also an important platform for practitioners to convene on industry issues and current trends in the coolest part of our sector.

‘R’ YOU READY?

Attendees will hear from international and local industry experts reviewing the latest developments in legislation and technology, as well as a multitude of specific case studies.

Thomas Lund of Danfoss Industrial Refrigeration from Denmark, Bruce Nelson, M.AIRAH, of Colmac Coil Manufacturing, and Thomas Frank of Refolution will headline a list of more than 20 speakers and four panel sessions over the two days. Session topics include natural refrigerants and energy efficiency, transitioning to low-GWP refrigerants, and case studies reviewing a variety of technologies.

PICK YOUR PANEL

Four panels have been confirmed featuring broad-based group discussions on technician issues in the field, heat pump analysis, rerigeration end-users, and global warming and how we as an industry can make a difference. will be chairing the panel on refrigeration end-users. The panellists include Edward Brandt from Woolworths, and Jannie Howard from Gordon Brothers.

This panel will discuss the present and future of the industry; skill shortages and career opportunities; and what the key organisations are doing to address the phase-down, skill shortages and other issues.

“The Refrigeration 2021 Conference is without a doubt the seminal event in the Australian refrigeration calendar,” says Ferlin. “The calibre of both local and international speakers is consistently of the highest standard and a drawcard for this annual event.”

Ferlin will also be giving a talk on sustainability and integration initiatives that are driving supermarket change.

ON THIS KEYNOTE

Delivering one of three keynotes, Lund will speak about energy efficiency in industrial-sized refrigeration systems and will review how and why Danfoss has tried to perform more accurate calculations of system performance by defining rules for sizing components (such as air coolers) and applying these to all systems equally.

Nelson’s keynote presentation, Ultra-low GWP Refrigeration Using Natural Refrigerants, is a follow up to his 2017 keynote address on Refrigeration, Politics, and the ‘Donald Effect’. “Mr Trump obviously no longer occupies the White House and some of his environmental policy decisions have already been reversed,” says Nelson.

The talk will touch on the renewed pressure to accelerate the phase-down of F-gas refrigerants under the Biden administration.

“This presentation will focus more on the use of natural refrigerants as a logical choice to meet these new environmental policy goals – that is, more of a discussion about the refrigerants themselves and how to apply them rather than politics or policy.”

Thomas Frank from Refolution will also deliver a keynote on the future of ultra-low temperature refrigeration.

Refolution is a European engineering company that specialises in refrigeration systems using R279 refrigerant (air), including applications such as cryo-saunas (wellness), freeze-drying and low-temperature storage of medicines and other perishable goods.

Frank’s presentation will describe the cold sauna and air refrigeration technology in detail. It will also explore further uses of this innovation such as the storage of COVID-19 vaccines. ■

Would you like to know more? To find out more and register, go to www.airah.org.au/refrigeration2021