Ammonia making inroads into industrial refrigeration in China

As China edges closer to phasing out HCFCs, many see ammonia as an ideal alternative solution for industrial refrigeration. Bitzer and Fujian Snowman were just two of the companies at China Refrigeration 2017 (12-14 April; Shanghai New International Expo Centre) producing new ammonia compressors for the Chinese market. 

Bill Feng, General Manager for Sales and Marketing, Great China Region at Bitzer, presented the German company’s new ammonia screw compressor. It features a “high displacement that can go up to 1,000m3,” Feng said.   

He explained that previously Bitzer did not focus on ammonia compressors in China. “Our [previous] capacity was a lot smaller. We only had 500m3 at that time. So now we believe it’s the right time for this compressor,” he said.

Fujian Snowman is another company banking on ammonia. It launched new semi-hermetic ammonia compressors at the trade show.

“If we combine the advantages of ammonia as a high-powered refrigerant, it’s very strong,” said Rüdiger Rudischhauser, Vice-President – Sales (International) at Fujian Snowman.

The Chinese company is also seeking to export this product to Europe, where “Freon is ruled out and we need a replacement for commercial applications. It’s very low noise and very easy for the OEMs to handle,” Rudischhauser said.

New ammonia, CO₂ compressor

The company was also showcasing its new SRH high-pressure ammonia and CO2 screw compressor for heat pumps at the show, which he described as “unique in the world. It is for applications like ammonia and CO2”.

“We have meanwhile sold six,” he said. One has been installed in Germany and Fujian Snowman is seeing some demand for this compressor model in China.

Rudischhauser said he expects demand to increase as global investment in renewable energies like wind and hydroelectricity increases.

“There is a lot of energy which is dependent on weather patterns, so instead of storing this energy in big battery packs, it can be stored in the form of hot water for district heating,” he concluded.