The ECOFRIG project · premises of the ECOFRIG industry partners Godrej Appliances Ltd, Videocon Appl i-2 Swiss and German contribution 3 million CHF, industry contribution 1.5 million

An ECOFRIG p ublication

February 2002

PREPARED BY

INFRASConsulting, Policy Analysis and ResearchGerechtigkeitsgasse 208039 Zürich, Switzerland

The ECOFRIG project

Achievements and Experiences (1997 - 2001)

Team of Authors

Othmar SchwankNicole NorthStefan Kessler

T h e E C O F R I G p r o j e c t : A c h i e v e m e n t s a n d E x p e r i e n c e s ( 1 9 9 7 – 2 0 0 1 ) An input document for the conference on

Meeting Challenges in Change Over to Ecological Refrigeration

New Delhi, 5 - 6 March 2002

January 15, 2002 / 1126b1 / Ecofrig_finalreport110202.doc

Authors: • Othmar Schwank• Stefan Kessler• Nicole North

Prepared by:INFRAS, Policy Analysis and ResearchGerechtigkeitsgasse 20, 8039 Zürich, SwitzerlandPhone: ++41-1-205 95 95Fax : ++41-1-205 95 99e-mail: [email protected]: www.infras.ch

An ECOFRIG publication

Zürich, Switzerland

February 2002

Acknowledgements:

This document was produced as an input document for the Conference on Meeting

Challenges in Change Over to Ecological Refrigeration to be held in New Delhi, India

on 5 - 6 March 2002. The conference will be the formal closing event for the ECOFRIG

project implementation activities in India.

INFRAS wishes to thank all contributors and their employees for helping to make the

ECOFRIG project and in particular this document possible. Explicit thanks we would

like to extend to Sukumar Devotta (National Chemical Laboratory, Pune), R.S. Agarwal

(Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi), Richard Gerster (Gerster Development Con-

sultants, Richterswil) for their much appreciated comments to the draft of this report,

to Veena Joshi (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation) and Stephan Sicars

(German Technical Cooperation, GTZ), Atul Bagai (UNEP) and C. Vishwanath (Minis-

try of Environment and Forests, India) for their encouragement and support at the

level of the project steering committee for the experience documentation process. Also,

we would like to thank all persons who provided us – through the interviews con-

ducted by Richard Gerster in the fall 2001 – honest and fruitful feedback on the experi-

ences made in project implementation and possible achievements of the ECOFRIG pro-

ject activities. A special thanks is addressed to the agencies sponsoring the ECOFRIG

project, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the German

Technical Cooperation (GTZ).

Table of Contents

Executive summary ....................................................................................................... I

1. The Global Challenge .........................................................................................1 1.1. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer ............ 1 1.2. The Kyoto Protocol on Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions....................... 2 1.3. Technology Options to Phase-out CFCs............................................................. 3

1.3.1. Replacements in the Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Sector ........................................................................................................ 3

1.3.2. Key Merits and Demerits of the Hydrocarbon Technology ............. 4

2. The ECOFRIG Project .........................................................................................7 2.1. Origins and Objectives .......................................................................................... 7 2.2. The Trilateral Approach, Key Activities and Funding..................................... 8 2.3. Considerations on public-private sector participation................................... 10 2.4. Technologies and Developments in the Global Domestic

Refrigerator Market ............................................................................................. 12

3. The Indian Setting .............................................................................................15 3.1. The Indian Refrigeration Appliances Market – Recent Developments

and Trends ............................................................................................................ 15 3.1.1. Important Market Players ................................................................... 16 3.1.2. Consumer Trends ................................................................................. 20

3.2. The Indian RAC Sector Strategy and Ozone Policy........................................ 21

4. Overview of Outputs and Achievements of the ECOFRIG Project .........23 4.1. Introduction.......................................................................................................... 23 4.2. The Case of the Godrej No-frost Refrigerator.................................................. 24 4.3. The Case of Hydrocarbon Refrigerant Supply ................................................ 29 4.4. The Case of the Calorimeter ............................................................................... 32 4.5. Research Support I: Life Tests by NCL............................................................. 37 4.6. Research Support II: IITD/Rockwell Cooperation in Commercial

Refrigeration ......................................................................................................... 40

i i T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s

4.7. Skill training in the service sector: the launch of the HIDECOR Project .................................................................................................................42

4.8. International Networking ...................................................................................45 4.9. Institutional Arrangement and Project Management .....................................49

5. Synthesis..............................................................................................................51 5.1. Success Factors......................................................................................................51 5.2. The Challenges of Implementation....................................................................57

5.2.1. Taking Informed Decisions .................................................................58 5.2.2. Technology Transfer.............................................................................60 5.2.3. Capacity Building and Training..........................................................62 5.2.4. Marketing, Promotion, Information Dissemination and

International Networking ....................................................................64 5.3. Conclusions ...........................................................................................................66

5.3.1. Key results of an external assessment................................................66 5.3.2. The technology transfer processes under Multilateral

Environment Agreements....................................................................67 5.3.3. Unresolved Issues, Future Challenges...............................................70

References .....................................................................................................................71

Annex.............................................................................................................................73 Annex 1: Glossary and list of abbreviations ...............................................................75 Annex 2: List of publications and reports since 1997 ................................................76

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Executive summary

The Global Challenge

Under the Montreal Protocol for the Protection of the Ozone Layer it was agreed that

ozone depleting substances with a high ozone depleting potential such as chloro-

fluorocarbons (CFCs), are to be phased out by 2010 in developing countries. In devel-

oped countries this phase-out took place in 1995/1996.

India signed the Montreal Protocol in 1992. Under this Protocol India has been catego-

rised as a Large Volume Consuming country due to its significant consumption of

CFCs. In 1997 India consumed 6’705 Mt of CFCs. The refrigeration and air conditioning

(RAC) sector is with its 2’961 Mt CFC1 per year (Gargh 1999) the single largest con-

sumer of CFCs in India. With regard to refrigerant, 96% of the consumption of Ozone

Depleting Substances (ODS) in the RAC sector is CFC12.

Globally, there are two competing technologies for phasing out the use of CFC12 as a

refrigerant in domestic refrigerators. The first technology is based on using hydro-

fluorocarbons (HFCs) such as HFC134a which is a synthetic fluid and a powerful

greenhouse gas with a global warming potential of 1’300 CO2-eq. The second technol-

ogy uses hydrocarbon refrigerants (i.e. isobutane, HC600a) or the blend of propane and

isobutane which are natural fluids. For phasing out the use of CFC11 as a foam blow-

ing agent in refrigerators there are also two competing technologies: The first is based

on a synthetic fluid, i.e. hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) such as HCFC141b, the

second is again based on a natural fluid, i.e. cyclopentane which is a hydrocarbon.

The hydrocarbon technology, also termed “greenfreeze”, has been re-introduced on the

European market in Germany 1993/94. The hydrocarbon refrigerants are flammable

but have a number of environmental and performance merits over synthetic substitutes

such as HFCs. Hydrocarbon refrigerants are not only fully ozone friendly, their contri-

bution to global warming can also be taken into consideration. The most important

advantage of hydrocarbon refrigerants in this context, however, is their compatibility

with mineral oils. Today, the hydrocarbon technology is the leading technology among

the more energy efficient refrigerator models on the European market. Three major

1 1997 data, figure does not include consumption as foam agent but only refrigerant.

I I E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y

Japanese manufactures (Matsushita, Toshiba and Hitachi) have also recently launched

this technology for the production of refrigerators. The technology is now well estab-

lished in the Western European domestic refrigerator market as well as in China, Indo-

nesia, Australia, Lithuania and Cuba. The dissemination of the hydrocarbon technol-

ogy has been catalyzed by the inclusion of HFC into the basket of greenhouse gases in

the Kyoto Protocol that aims to globally reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Design of the ECOFRIG project: environment friendly foam and refrigerant

Within this policy framework, an Indo-Swiss-German collaboration in ecological do-

mestic and commercial refrigeration, the ECOFRIG project, started in 1992 with a tech-

nology focus on hydrocarbon refrigerants and foam blowing agents. The rationale of the

ECOFRIG project has been to contribute to the establishment of a level playing field

between synthetic fluids (e.g. HFCs and HCFCs) and the fully environment-friendly

natural fluids such as hydrocarbons in the Indian domestic and commercial refrigera-

tion sector.

In ECOFRIG project phase 1 (1994-19962) the main focus of the project was on hydro-

carbon (cyclopentane) foaming. As to date, most large manufacturers of domestic re-

frigeration appliances in India have applied this technology. Replacement of CFC11 as

foam blowing agent by pentane blends has been achieved by all ECOFRIG partners in

those factories eligible for funding under the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Proto-

col. In 1996, an ECO-Refrigeration conference was held in Delhi with significant inter-

national participation. This conference helped to widen the information base on differ-

ent aspects of the hydrocarbon technology in India.

Project phase 23 (1997-2001) mainly focused on introducing hydrocarbon refrigerants

as working fluids. The project supported the phase-out of CFCs from production and

servicing of domestic and small commercial refrigeration appliances and an assessment

of the availability of hydrocarbon refrigerants on the Indian market. Three dual use

charging facilities have been installed as integral parts of one assembly line at the

premises of the ECOFRIG industry partners Godrej Appliances Ltd, Videocon Appli-

2 Swiss and German contribution 3 million CHF, industry contribution 1.5 million CHF. In addition, 500’000 CHF Swiss contribution for international networking.

3 Swiss contribution in phase 2 (1.3.1997 – 31.12.1999) was 1'550'000 CHF, the German contribution 1'600'000 DEM (equivalent to 1'310'000 CHF) and the industry partners contributed 1'100'000 CHF. Phase 2 extension until 31.12.2002 is funded by a Swiss contribution of 800’000 CHF (see also Table 1).

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ances Ltd and Rockwell Industries Ltd. Some 13’000 hydrocarbon refrigerators have

been manufactured in these facilities under pilot production arrangements until mid of

2001.

HIDECOR – challenges from the service front

The complete phase-out of CFC up to 2010 in India will face main constraints in the

refrigeration servicing sector, as more than 20 million CFC based refrigerators will still

be in use in 2003, when the use of CFCs is banned from manufacturing new appliances

due to the phase-out schedule set by the Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation)

Rules, 2000 (MoEF 2000). Service enterprises are as yet ill prepared to adopt new and

more demanding non-CFC technologies. Supporting micro and small enterprises

(MSEs) that constitute the majority of servicing workshops is therefore important for

two reasons: a) to support the Government of India in achieving the national CFC

phase-out targets, and b) to enhance skills of these enterprises and their 60’000-70’000

technicians. Therefore, a HIDECOR4 pilot phase project has been conceived during

ECOFRIG phase 2 as an undertaking, complementary to the efforts under the Multilat-

eral Fund of the Montreal Protocol. The HIDECOR main phase project, launched in

2001, is focusing on training MSEs not affiliated to manufacturer networks in six Indian

states5. The project is to establish capacities in training institutions to promote good

practices in the maintenance of CFC-free appliances.

Due to barriers emerging from tough competition in the domestic refrigerator market

and the “wait and see” attitude on the part of key industries, the objectives of

ECOFRIG phase 2 could not fully be achieved until the end of 1999. It was therefore

decided to extend the project until the end of 2002 with the task to consolidate previous

achievements, to properly hand over imported equipment, to provide research sup-

port, and to establish a documentation and dissemination process on experiences

made.

Resources made available to ECOFRIG and HIDECOR are summarised in Table 1:

4 HIDECOR: Human and Institutional Development in Ecological Refrigeration.

5 Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andra Pradesh, Maharastra, Gujarat and Delhi.

I V E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y

Agreement Period ECOFRIGSwiss/German contribution

CHF

HIDECORSwiss/German contribution

CHF

ECOFRIG Preparatory Phase 11992 – 30.6.1994 510’000

ECOFRIG Phase 11.7.1994 – 31.12.1996 3’500’000

ECOFRIG Phase 21.3.1997 – 31.12.1999 2’860’000

Pilot phase580’000

ECOFRIG Phase 2 extension1.1.2000 – 31.12.2002 800’000

Extended pilot phase700’000

HIDECOR Phase 11.1.2001 – 31.12.2004 3’993’000

Total 7’670’000 5’273’00

Table 1: Timeframe and budget overview of ECOFRIG project phases 1 and 2, ECOFRIG phase 2 extension and HIDECOR project.

For the purpose of an experience documentation and to perform an achievement and

impact analysis of the ECOFRIG project, interviews with key actors were conducted

during 2001. On the basis of the feedback received the following seven cases were se-

lected for characterising factors of success and failure.

The case of the Godrej no-frost hydrocarbon refrigerator

In March 2000 the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund has approved the 2

million USD refrigerant conversion project of Godrej based on isobutane refrigerant.

Godrej taking a refrigerant decision in favour of hydrocarbons is the result of technol-

ogy transfer activities which go back to 1995 with a visit at the Liebherr factory in

Germany. This successful example of technology transfer was taken up in the IPCC

Special Report on Technology Transfer (IPCC 2001) and an investigation into technol-

ogy transfer by IEA, UNEP and CTI (IEA 2001). A concept study on how to convert not

only direct cooled models but also no-frost refrigerators to hydrocarbon refrigerant

was first conducted in 1996. By 1998, the technology partner agreement under

ECOFRIG phase 2 for the installation of a dual use pilot charging and leak detection

line was agreed upon. In the same year a high level industry delegation visited Kelon,

one of the largest refrigerator manufacturers in China, using the isobutane technology.

By summer 1999, the Godrej foam conversion project sponsored by the Multilateral

Fund/World Bank was completed, and the foam blowing agent CFC11 was replaced

by a pentane/isobutane blend. By mid 2001, Godrej had completed the pilot produc-

E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y V

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tion of some 13’000 hydrocarbon refrigerators using the charging facility installed un-

der ECOFRIG phase 2. A new Pentacool line of refrigerators was launched. This line is

designed for compliance with hydrocarbon refrigerant. It also comprises a 220l no-frost

model based on hydrocarbon blend as refrigerant. For cost considerations and inade-

quate time availability to develop and test an HC600a line prior to 1.1.2003, Godrej

decided to use hydrocarbon blend as a CFC12 substitute for a period of 3-5 years and

with the intention of converting to isobutene at a later stage. This decision facilitates

refrigerant supply and service training, because hydrocarbon blend is also used in the

commercial refrigeration sub-sector.

Delays in the implementation of the Multilateral Fund/World Bank refrigerant conver-

sion project6 makes the charging facility established under ECOFRIG an essential pre-

requisite to timely launch non-CFC based Godrej models for being in compliance with

the National Ozone Regulation.

The case of hydrocarbon refrigerant

The objective of establishing a commercial supply chain for hydrocarbon refrigerant is

delayed by multiple barriers prevailing in a “chicken and egg” situation: As long as

there is no demand from the industry for hydrocarbon refrigerant, no private investor

will take the burden to build up a supply chain. The unavailability of the refrigerant,

compressors and other components makes manufacturers hesitate to invest in this

technology.

To start prototype testing during phase 1, limited quantities of hydrocarbon refriger-

ants were imported following procedures for “research”. The standard procedures for

import and handling of these substances had to be addressed in a second step. This

was necessary as the Indian explosive rules are not compatible with any international

or national standards outside India, and therefore it is not possible to use any standard

refrigerant cylinder of international suppliers.

In collaboration with SHV, India design approval for a 5.5kg and a 12kg cylinder was

obtained by the end of 1998 from the Chief Controller of Explosives. Some 800 kg of

hydrocarbon refrigerant (of which 400kg were directly earmarked for ECOFRIG part-

6 Delays are caused by controversies on adjustment of the amount sanctioned to increase equity level. The 40% share that formerly belonged to Godrej’s American joint venture partner GE has been taken over by the Godrej family.

V I E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y

ners) was imported in mid 1999. The oil price hike of 2000 caused heavy losses to the

LPG business of SHV. The company decided to also withdraw from the hydrocarbon

refrigerant business. When the spare stock still available with SHV India in November

2000 was purchased by manufacturers, the availability of hydrocarbon refrigerant for

small enterprises dropped again back to zero. In February 2001 ECOFRIG again

launched a project based import of 400kg hydrocarbon blend which reached the coun-

try in fall 2001. In the remaining months of 2002 steps will be initiated in cooperation

with the HIDECOR project and interested market players to assure supply on a com-

mercial basis.

The case of the calorimeter

This case study evaluates the experience gained in transferring hydrocarbon calorime-

ter technology from a German supplier to Kirloskar-Copeland, an Indian manufacturer

of commercial compressors, and to Shree Refrigeration, a local firm contracted to build

a calorimeter for the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi (IITD) under licence.

This technology cooperation was started under ECOFRIG phase 2. The full transfer of

technology from Germany to India experienced significant delays in project implemen-

tation as a result of underestimated technical problems faced in the cooperation with

the German technology supplier. The calorimeter which was supplied to Kirloskar-

Copeland enabled them to develop four models for hydrocarbon blend and to sell ap-

proximately 5'000 units up to the end of 2001.

As of January 2001, Shree Refrigeration had completed the assembly of a similar calo-

rimeter unit for IITD on the basis of parts and equipment imported from the German

technology supplier. Initial tests were conducted, but failed. Though significant efforts

from the German party had gone into the development of this product, two problems

had to be addressed to make the technology transfer sustainable:

A) The commissioning of the calorimeter supplied to Kirloskar-Copeland marked the

starting point of the warranty granted by the German supplier BACHER for the parts

which were intended to be used for the IITD calorimeter (e.g. essentials such as the

software and the control part). This warranty expired in March 2001, leaving IITD as

end user of the locally manufactured unit without warranty on some core elements of

the equipment.

B) The software supplied from Germany could not be maintained locally in India.

Therefore maintenance would be costly for an institution such as IITD, in particular as

E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y V I I

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no warranty cover was available as from April 2001 onwards. Therefore an alternative

project was developed for the IITD calorimeter by the Indian company Shree Refrigera-

tion. A major redesign allowed them to gain full control over all system components

and parameters, in particular the software which is now of Indian make. Before the

order was placed, Shree Refrigeration had demonstrated the viability of the new con-

cept in a recently completed installation for an Indian industry customer. Factory ac-

ceptance was completed successfully by December 2001. The calorimeter will be com-

missioned at IITD in February 2002. The calorimeter tool shall put IITD into a position

to implement research contracts from the industry side. An essential technology for

testing hydrocarbon compressors was accordingly established in the public domain.

Research support

HFC134a was the most popular choice when the ECOFRIG project started. Hydrocar-

bon technology was looked at with great scepticism by most of the Indian actors. An

R&D network including the research institutions participating was developed in steps

to address technology data and designs matching Indian conditions. In this task re-

search institutions played a highly crucial role.

The National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) in Pune

Today, NCL is an internationally respected competence centre in the field of hydrocar-

bon based performance and life testing. Besides the project support to NCL, also the

industry has invested considerable amounts of funds into the development of hydro-

carbon technology. Research responses under the ECOFRIG project emerged fast from

an industry perspective. Key actors from the industry and from research institutions

view the output of the adaptive research undertaken between 1994 and 2001 as a

landmark achievement. The co-operation with industry changed the attitude on both

sides. It made sure that the research was demand driven. The dissemination of results

reached beyond the boarders of the country. In the specific field of hydrocarbon re-

search, NCL is looked at as a global resource institution. As an individual institute

without involvement in the ECOFRIG project this could not have been achieved. As a

part of these efforts, 11 Master Theses by Post Graduates of the Pune and Shivaji Uni-

versities were under this research programme at NCL. Most of these students have

either been absorbed by the industry or got scholarships for higher studies in the US.

V I I I E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y

The Indian Institute of Technology (IITD) in Delhi

The observation made for NCL applies also for IITD’s research on performance of ap-

pliances. It was demand driven and was built upon industry co-operation. The insti-

tute created significant capacity to support small and medium sized industries from

the commercial appliance sector. The results from comparative performance evaluation

of appliances retrofitted with hydrocarbon and other blends may see a future demand

from the national service sector strategy as well as from other developing countries

which are in the process of evaluating HC based retrofit strategies. IITD sees a clear

demand from the industry side for performance testing of hydrocarbon compressors.

This demand can be met after the installation of a calorimeter which will be accessible

from the public domain. One PhD study, around 20 master studies and eight B.Tech.

studies and a number of internationally published research papers resulted from this

research collaboration.

International networking

In order to reach the project’s goal to establish a level playing field between synthetic

and natural fluids, international networking has been a major tool. Within interna-

tional networking activities a two pronged approach was followed, with (i) the organi-

sation of workshops, seminars and international conferences or the participation in and

contribution to such events, and (ii) the contribution to HC technology development

and experience transfer to other countries. These networking activities allowed the

enhancement of international exposure of Indian experts and contributed to dissemi-

nate at the international level adaptive research experiences which were gained under

the ECOFRIG project. In the absence of such contacts the decision of Indian industries

to opt in favour of hydrocarbon refrigerant would probably have been taken in favour

of HFC134a following the example of multinationals operating in India.

As a reward for its fruitful efforts, the implementing agency for this project, INFRAS as

well as Prof. R.S. Agarwal and Dr. Sukumar Devotta from the associated research insti-

tutions IIT Delhi and NCL Pune, have been selected to receive respectively the 1998

and 1997 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Stratospheric Ozone Protection

Award.

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Institutional structure and project management

The trilateral government project set up for the implementation of a parallel support

scheme complementary to the Montreal Protocol was essential to the project’s

achievement in providing the institutional frame for a public private partnership. It

was also crucial to gain the support on the side of GTZ for decisions which had been

taken by the Joint Project Review Committee (JPRC) as the project’s steering body. The

interaction in the JPRC between the three governments and the industries finally

helped to strengthen flexibility and empowerment of the JPRC which was seen as a

rather unique set up within SDC and GTZ administrative frameworks. INFRAS en-

trusted as the member secretary of the JPRC has effectively acted as a bridge builder

between the two cultures: industry and government

The JPRC thus emerged as a valuable platform for the implementation of a public–

private partnership. Besides project matters, also issues relating to the implementation

of the Montreal Protocol could here be taken up in an informal manner between the

Government of India and the participating industry.

Success factors for building institutional capacity in India to meet challenges of the

implementation of a multilateral environment agreement

The strategy of ECOFRIG phase 2 was embedded in a policy environment character-

ised by the Multilateral Frameworks of the Montreal and Kyoto Protocol, the market

shares of non-CFC technologies in the international market and the dynamics in the

Indian refrigerator market. Reviewing the ECOFRIG project activities and instruments

applied within this policy environment, the following success factors were identified

which shaped the collaboration culture, supported project implementation and paved

ground for the achievements of this project:

• The trilateral government arrangement between India, Switzerland and Germany,

• A powerful institutional steering set-up,

• No hidden agenda of the participating governments,

• Interlinking different levels of action vertically,

• Motivated key stakeholders from the industry,

• Flexibility in implementation,

X E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y

• Adequate funds for technology transfer,

• International network involving industries from industrialised countries,

• Personal commitment, skills and vision of research partners,

• The honest broker role played by INFRAS.

The challenges of project implementation have mainly been seen in:

• Supporting the Indian industry in the decision making processes for the choice of

technology through enabling on-site visits in European and other companies, pro-

viding technical on-site consultancy through European specialists and industry

representatives, organising local and international workshops, trainings etc.

• Enabling the process of technology transfer focussing on processes related to

know-how, hardware equipment and the refrigerant by finding suitable technol-

ogy partners, identifying suitable, cost-effective equipment for pilot production,

adapting technologies to the Indian situation and establishing a reliable supply of

refrigerant.

• The efforts undertaken in capacity building, training, and education in manufac-

turing, design of appliances, servicing, etc.

• The wide range of information dissemination, marketing, promotion and inter-

national networking activities for creating a sound knowledge basis for the hy-

drocarbon technology in India.

Conclusions

The ECOFRIG project helped to establish and mainstream technologies and technical

knowledge with a promising potential for contributing to sustainable development in

the Indian market. The capacity building on various levels including research institu-

tions, training manuals for safe conversion of appliances, retrofitting and servicing as

well as the continued availability of the services of INFRAS as a “clearing house” for

technology information were instrumental to this.

An independent, external investigation (Gerster 2001) based on interviews with se-

lected ECOFRIG project partners in India, Germany and Switzerland acknowledges the

above-mentioned key success factors and recommends that the wealth of experience

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created by ECOFRIG should be used in a wider context, namely 1) in other countries

besides India, and 2) by looking at the implementation of technology transfer under

Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs) in a development perspective and vice

versa.

The phase out of CFCs under the Montreal Protocol has – besides curbing the chlorine

concentration in the upper atmosphere – also significantly contributed to the slowing-

down of the growth rates of the aggregate global greenhouse gas forcing since the early

1990ies. Taking into consideration the still considerable global warming potential of

HFCs as substitutes for CFC, the environmental additionality of the hydrocarbons as

natural refrigerant technology has to be seen in the wider context of the global envi-

ronment. The ECOFRIG experience therefore suggests the adoption of a more inte-

grated view across the different MEAs. The related lessons which can be learned from

the ECOFRIG project for technology transfer under MEAs are:

• The need for public-private partnerships at different levels for the diffusion of en-

vironmentally sound technologies.

• To include supportive efforts for building local capacities and skills in public and

private institutions for choosing technologies, adapting them to local situations

and integrating them into a national system.

• The need to diffuse new skills and technologies also to the small scale enterprise

sector, e.g. involved in maintenance and service of appliances and equipments.

• The importance development assistance (ODA) through bilateral contributions can

play in supporting the implementation of a MEA, in achieving remarkable interna-

tional outreach, and in delivering also the needed political commitment to make

such complex technology transfer processes a success.

E C O F R I G A c h i e v e m e n t s a n d E x p e r i e n c e s 1

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1. The Global Challenge

1.1. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer

Until the early 1970ies nobody dreamed that human activity could possibly deplete the

ozone layer. In 1974 Rowland and Molina showed that a widely used class of very inert

chemicals – the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – were transported to the stratosphere by

convective air movements.7 There, CFCs could absorb high energy radiation from the

sun and release free chlorine. Once released, the chlorine could destroy stratospheric

ozone through a series of catalytic reactions. The life-protecting role of atmospheric

ozone stems from its ability to absorb dangerous ultraviolet radiation. Under cloudless

conditions 1% reduction in ozone results in an increase of about 1.3% in the UV-B ra-

diation which affects skin tissue. The discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole in 1984

gave evidence that this human induced ozone depletion has become a reality. CFCs are

not only ozone depleting substances (ODS), all halocarbons (hydrofluorocarbons

(HFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)) are also powerful greenhouse gases

(GHG) responsible for radiative forcing at levels from 1’000 CO2 equivalent upwards.

In 2000, CFCs contributed around 25% to the total radiative forcing of the anthropo-

genic non-CO2 gases released to the atmosphere since pre-industrial times8.

A landmark Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was adopted in

Montreal in 1987 and has subsequently been ratified by 176 countries, among them 130

developing countries. As observations confirmed the increasing damage to the ozone

layer, the parties to the Montreal Protocol decided to strengthen the requirements by

amendments to the Protocol in 1990 in London and 1992 in Copenhagen:

• In 1990, a Multilateral Fund was established under the Montreal Protocol through

the London Amendment which proposed an indicative list of incremental cost for

different types of ODS phase-out activities. It was then agreed to compensate the

7 First research results were published in the Journal “Nature” on June 28, 1974. In 1995, Rowland, Molina and Crutzen were awarded the Nobel Price in Chemistry for their work in atmospheric chem-istry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone.

8 Hansen J. et al, Global warming in the twenty-first century: an alternative scenario , NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; PNAS Early Edition 2000

2 E C O F R I G : A c h i e v e m e n t s a n d E x p e r i e n c e s

full agreed incremental cost of ODS phase-out in developing countries (listed in

Article 5 of the Montreal Protocol).

• Under the impression of the “Earth Summit” held in Rio in 1992 and the widening

ozone hole, the phase-out date for CFCs – which have a high ozone depleting po-

tential – was advanced from 2000 to 1996 for OECD countries listed in Article 2 of

the Montreal Protocol through the Copenhagen Amendment. The EU voluntarily

committed to phase-out CFCs by 1.1.1995. Sweden and Switzerland even ad-

vanced the CFC phase-out date to 1.1.94 and Germany to 30.6. 1994. In Article 5

countries CFC are to be phased out by 2010 only. This advancement of the CFC

phase-out dates in Europe by 1-2 years compared to the US and Japan had a deci-

sive influence on the technology development in Europe. The growing public

awareness on ozone matters put pressure on the industry to choose environmen-

tally sound substitute technologies.

The consumption of HCFCs – which have a lower ozone depleting potential than

CFCs – is to be reduced later; in Article 2 countries by 2003, in Article 5 countries

through a stabilisation at the level reached in 2016. Full phase-out follows by 2040

only.

India ratified the Montreal Protocol in 1992. These developments and milestones in the

evolution of the Montreal Protocol are important in the context of the ECOFRIG decade

(1992-2002, see section 1).

1.2. The Kyoto Protocol on Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions

The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC), established in 1997, addresses the abatement of six greenhouse gases

(GHGs) for which industrialised countries have to achieve a reduction as compared to

the 1990 emission levels. Three of these six gases – HFCs, PFCs and SF6 – have a high

global warming potential. On the other hand, the Montreal Protocol was established to

control and phase-out the use of ozone depleting substances such as HFCs, within a

prescribed time frame which is different for industrialised and developing countries.

The inclusion of HFCs in the basket of GHGs under the Kyoto Protocol and the slight

merits of the hydrocarbon technology with regard to energy efficiency has made com-

panies to consider this technology also for home market application outside Europe.


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Japanese enterprises in particular have started to invest in isobutane based research

and development.

In 1999, the “Buenos Aires Plan of Action” to the Kyoto Protocol called for a joint

workshop of IPCC9 and the Technical and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) of the

Montreal Protocol to assess non-HFC based technical options for CFC phase-out in

September 1999. The strategy emerging from these consultations was an increased em-

phasis on leak-tight refrigeration appliances and the evaluation of technologies on the

basis of Greenhouse Gas emissions on a lifecycle basis. On the background of global

warming refrigeration, experts consider isobutane as the global long-term solution for

domestic refrigeration appliances.

1.3. Technology Options to Phase-out CFCs

1.3.1. Replacements in the Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Sector

At global level around 25% of the release of CFCs into the atmosphere stem from re-

frigerants, 26% from foam blowing.10

• For phasing out CFC12 which is used as refrigerant in domestic and commercial

refrigerators there are two competing technologies (Table 2). The first technology

is based on using HFC134a which has a considerable global warming potential

(GWP). The second technology uses hydrocarbon fluids with low global warming

potential such as isobutane (R600a). Hydrocarbon fluids are however flammable.

• In foam blowing HCFC141b and cyclopentane are used as competing technologies

for replacing CFC11. HCFC141b has an ozone depleting potential of 5% relative to

CFC11, and is classified as a transitional substance and has therefore to be phased

out under the Montreal Protocol. Cyclopentane is a hydrocarbon fluid.

9 IPCC: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

10 Source: UNEP, R.D. Bojkov, changing the ozone layer, 1995


Phase-out date Montreal Protocol ReplacementGas

Article 2 countries Article 5 countries Refrigerant Foam blowing

Synthetic fluid:HFC 134a

CFC 12 1996 1999 freeze on level of 1995 to 1997 average, 2005 re-duction by 50%, 2007 reduction by 85%, 2010 total phase-out

Hydrocarbon: Iso-butane (R600a)

Synthetic fluid: HCFC141b

CFC 11 1996 As above

Hydrocarbon: Cyclopentane

HCFCs 2003 Stabilisation at the level reached in 2016. Full phase-out by 2040

Table 2: Phase-out dates for CFCs and HCFCs and their respective replacements as refrig-erant and foam blowing agent.

Considering that both CFCs and HCFCs have to finally be phased out under the Mont-

real Protocol, it is expected that emissions of HFC will significantly grow both in in-

dustrialised and developing countries. This increase of HFC emissions with consider-

able GWP is not taken into consideration as an environmental concern under the Mont-

real Protocol, but under the Kyoto Protocol (section 1.2).

1.3.2. Key Merits and Demerits of the Hydrocarbon Technology

The hydrocarbon technology, also termed 'greenfreeze,' emerged in Germany and is

leading among the more energy efficient refrigerator models on the European market.

Also Japanese manufactures consider the technology as an option for producing refrig-

erators, especially since the inclusion of HFC into the basket of GHGs in the Kyoto Pro-

tocol. China is an example of a developing country where this technology has pene-

trated the market.

Hydrocarbon refrigerants (i.e. isobutane or the blend of propane and isobutane) have

been re-introduced on the European market in 1993/94. These refrigerants are flam-

mable but have a number of environmental and performance merits over synthetic

substitutes. Hydrocarbon refrigerants are not only fully ozone friendly, but their global


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warming potential is negligible. The most important advantage of hydrocarbon refrig-

erants in this context, however, is their compatibility with mineral oils.

It is a challenge to adapt any ozone-depleting technology to the needs and conditions

of developing countries. In the case of hydrocarbon, special attention must be given to

safety, though quantities used are typically below 150 grams. The compatibility with

mineral oils makes hydrocarbon refrigerants attractive CFC replacements in servicing

and in particular as drop-in replacements under conditions prevailing in many Article

5 countries (large informal service sector and a humid climate). Contrary to this, the

hygroscope nature of Polyester Oils (POE are mostly used with HFCs) imposes much

tighter standards of cleanliness and moisture control of the respective manufacturing

and servicing processes

One barrier acting against a wide-spread market penetration of the 'greenfreeze' tech-

nology in developing countries is the relatively high capital cost of the technology, es-

pecially with respect to the safe handling of the flammable refrigerant in the product

design and manufacturing phases. These incremental safety costs are partly to be

funded by the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol. This could explain why, al-

though the Fund supported a significant number of conversion projects in developing

countries' domestic refrigerator sector, a large majority of these projects were based on

the HFC134a technology.


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2. The ECOFRIG Project

2.1. Origins and Objectives

In July 1992 Greenpeace announced that a fully CFC and HFC free refrigerator – a

“greenfreeze” – would be launched in cooperation with the East German manufacturer

FORON. This message was discussed with the three major Indian refrigerator manu-

facturers in September 1992. The first visit of an Indian delegation at FORON took

place in 1993 as part of an inception project phase funded as one of the early actions of

the Global Environment Programme, established by the Swiss Agency for Develop-

ment and Cooperation (SDC) in 1991. The German „Gesellschaft für Technische

Zusammenarbeit“ (GTZ) joined the project in the second half of 1993. With the Gov-

ernment of India joining, a trilateral government setting subsequently emerged as an

essential design element of the Collaboration in Ecological Domestic and Commercial

Refrigeration with a technology focus on hydrocarbon refrigerants – the ECOFRIG Pro-

ject. It was formally agreed upon in 1994.

The rationale of the ECOFRIG project was to contribute to the establishment of a level

playing field between synthetic fluids (such as the HFCs) and the fully environment-

friendly natural fluids such as hydrocarbons in the Indian domestic and commercial

refrigeration market. The project was designed as a support activity complementary to

the implementation structures under the Montreal Protocol. The principle objectives

were the transfer of safety-related and technical know-how and information to the In-

dian industry and to research partners at a national level, and to support applied re-

search and pilot manufacturing of appliances and components as needed to make hy-

drocarbon technology a viable option under Indian conditions.

The ECOFRIG project emerged as a relevant technology co-operation in the context

outlined above. It was designed as a lobby project in the “post Rio 1992 period” and

anticipated that the climate change agenda would induce a second transition in tech-

nology in the industrialised world. The “greenfreeze” message would sooner or later

also be heard outside Europe. If, with a multilateral agreement such as the Kyoto Pro-

tocol in place, Japan and other large multinational firms using refrigeration equipment

would start to convert to HFC-free equipment, developing countries might become

concerned about the technological implications of the CFC phase-out. The Multilateral


Fund of the Montreal Protocol does support only one conversion for phasing out CFCs.

The industries in developing countries, in the decade following the phase-out of CFCs

from manufacturing of new appliances, would also have to gradually phase-out

HCFCs and HFCs wherever alternative and cost effective technical options are avail-

able, to remain technologically competitive at an international level. For this second

conversion funding had to be mobilised from own resources.

2.2. The Trilateral Approach, Key Activities and Funding

The ECOFRIG project is based upon a Government Agreement between the Swiss Gov-

ernment (SDC) and the German Government (GTZ), and the Ozone Cell of the Indian

Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) as the lead agency within the

Government of India.

In ECOFRIG project phase 1 (1994-1996), the Swiss and German governments contrib-

uted 3’000’000 CHF, and the Indian industry 1’500’000 CHF. The main focus of the pro-

ject was the conversion from CFCs to hydrocarbon (i.e. cyclopentane) foam and infor-

mation dissemination on the hydrocarbon refrigerant technology. As to date, most

large manufacturers of domestic refrigeration appliances in India have applied this

technology. Replacement of CFC11 as foam blowing agent by pentane blends was

achieved by all ECOFRIG partners (i.e. Godrej Appliances Ltd. and VOLTAS) in those

factories eligible for funding under the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol.

In 1996 a ECO-Refrigeration Conference was held in Delhi with significant interna-

tional participation. This conference helped to widen the information base on different

aspects of the hydrocarbon technology in India. 11

During ECOFRIG project phase 2 (1997-2000), the main focus was on introducing hy-

drocarbon refrigerants as working fluids. The Swiss contribution in this phase was

1'550'000 CHF, the German contribution 1'600'000 DEM (equivalent to 1'310'000 CHF),

and the industry partners contributed 1'100'000 CHF. For a break down of total expen-

ditures refer to Figure 1. Partners to phase 2 of the ECOFRIG project included Indian

11 The ECO-Refrigeration Conference on Hydrocarbon Fluids in Domestic and Commercial Refrigera-tion Appliances was held on February 13-14, 1996 in New Delhi. It was organized by MoEF India, SDC and GTZ, and facilitated by the TATA Energy Research Institute


INFRAS

industry (Godrej-GE Appliances Ltd., Mumbai; Videocon Appliances Ltd., Auran-

gabad; Rockwell Industries Private Ltd., Secundabad; and Kirloskar-Copeland Ltd,

Karad) and two research institutions (Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi; National

Chemical Laboratory, Pune).

The project supported the phase-out of CFCs from production and servicing of domes-

tic and small commercial refrigeration appliances and an assessment of the availability

of hydrocarbon refrigerants on the Indian market. Three dual use charging facilities

were installed as an integral parts of one assembly line at the premises of Godrej, Vid-

eocon and Rockwell. Some 3’000 hydrocarbon refrigerators were manufactured in

these facilities under pilot production arrangements until the end of 2000.

ECOFRIG project phase 2: Break down of expenditures

Paid out in CHF Budget according MoU / Agreement

Godrej: Charging line, engineering support 319'000 340'000

VIDEOCON: Charging line, engineering support 273'000 320'000

ROCKWELL: Charging line, engineering support 207'000 207'000

KCL Calorimeter, engineering support 346'000 330'000

Other large industries*: engineering support 161'000

IITD: Research 153'000

IITD: Public domain calorimeter 164'000

IITD: Conference organisation, training services, etc. 104'000

NCL: Research 157'000

TERI: Consultancies 96'000

SMEs**: training, manuals, refrigerant/equipment, 96'000

International travel 131'000

INFRAS technical support & project management 706'000

Total 2'913'000 2'860'000 ***

* BPL, ALLWYN, VOLTAS

** SMEs: Small and micro enterprises

*** Total budget as per agreement had only partially been covered by MoU's

Figure 1 Breakdown of expenditures (CHF) of ECOFRIG phase 2 (1997-2000). MoU = Memorandum of Understanding. The total amount of expenditures exceeded the budget for phase 2 by CHF 53'000.-

Due to obstacles caused by unfavourable domestic market conditions and the “wait-

and-see” attitude of the industry, the ECOFRIG objectives of phase 2 were not fully

1 0 E C O F R I G : A c h i e v e m e n t s a n d E x p e r i e n c e s

achieved. It was therefore decided to extend the project until the end of 2002 with the

task to consolidate previous achievements, to properly hand over imported equipment,

to provide further research support, and to establish a documentation and dissemina-

tion process on experiences made.

2.3. Considerations on public-private sector participation

The ECOFRIG project was designed to achieve success through co-operation, partner-

ship and sustained efforts and successfully established public private partnership. As

and when governments enter into co-operation with the private sector, activities and

instruments are to be viewed under a number of criteria:

• How are private sector co-operation partners selected?

In project phase 1 all major refrigerator manufacturers present in India were invited to join

the initiative. In the course of phase 1 Kirloskar-Copeland expressed an interest to join and

was subsequently invited to co-operate in phase 2. Based on the announcement made on oc-

casion of the 1996 ECO-Refrigeration Conference that the project was open to take on

board additional partners, also Videocon and Rockwell joined in for phase 2. At all stages

the support from the project side was linked to an industry commitment to support the

technology transfer activities with substantive own resources.

• Are project interventions compliant with the principles and policies set out by the

Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol?

The selection of private sector partners was based on two eligibility criteria set by the Mul-

tilateral Fund: The company had a baseline consumption of CFCs prior to July 1995 and

the foreign equity is less than 50%.

• Are project interventions compliant with the objectives to establish a levelled play-

ing field with technologies based on fluorocarbons (HFCs and HCFCs)?

One key point of departure for justifying this intervention was the fact that hydrocarbon

fluids, which can be generated from existing petroleum resources in India, do not have a

lobby. The initial market volumes in the order of a few dozen tons or even a few 100 tons

per annum in the long run do not make the technology commercially attractive for refiner-

ies and petroleum companies to invest in building up new businesses for marketing ODS

substitutes in the refrigeration sector. Secondly, the flammability of these hydrocarbon flu-

ids made it mandatory to establish a safety infrastructure in sectors which had not used

E C O F R I G A c h i e v e m e n t s a n d E x p e r i e n c e s 1 1

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flammable substances in the past. The external resources were allocated to address safety in

the first place and to make technology information available which would have been pro-

vided through business channels in case of chemical alternatives like HFCs or HCFCs.

For a successful transfer of the hydrocarbon technology, activities had to be designed

to address needed changes in “software” and “hardware” along the entire product

chain. As the conversion steps in the foam blowing process are restricted to the manu-

facturing level, the project started with foam in project phase 1. In refrigerant conver-

sion the compressor and refrigerator designs need to be changed. Safety is more crucial

as patterns of use and service at the customers’ place have to be taken into considera-

tion. So, besides the manufacturing of the product, the implications of the new tech-

nology for service had to be addressed. Equally, the supply of refrigerant needs not

only to be ensured at factory level, but also at the level of numerous service enterprises.

In the field of refrigerant supply, businesses that are independent of the technology

decisions of the refrigerator manufactures had to emerge if the technology was to be

successful. As these operations were more complex, refrigerant conversion became the

focus of project phase 2. Table 2 summarises the different stages in the product chain

which were targeted by project interventions. Some of these interventions were im-

plemented in the full responsibility of the participating industry partners, in others the

ECOFRIG project had co-operated with research institutions, specialised agencies and

technology partners.

Refrigerant Foam

• Compressors for HC refrigerant (designs, electrical components, life tests)

• Refrigerator designs (i.e. safety, energy efficiency)

• Leak detection and charging equipment for pilot production

• Storage of refrigerant at plant (safety)

• Supply of hydrocarbon refrigerant

• Service training and equipment

• Plant layout, storage, safety

• Foam blowing equipment for pilot pro-duction

• Chemicals, foam formula

• Supply of cyclopentane as blowing agent

Table 3: Stages in the product chain in the case of refrigerant and foam conversion ad-dressed by project interventions. To ensure a successful technology transfer proc-ess turned out to be more demanding for refrigerant than for hydrocarbon foam.


2.4. Technologies and Developments in the Global Domestic Refrigerator Market

The regulatory frameworks of the Montreal Protocol and, since 1997, the Kyoto Proto-

col played an important role in the adoption and dissemination of non-CFC technolo-

gies in the global refrigerator market:

• The pressure from Greenpeace and other NGOs “to go green” and the advanced

CFC phase-out dates within the EU paved the road for pentane blown foaming to

occupy the European market, though the investment levels for ensuring safety

were higher than they would have been with the competing technology HCFC

141b. In 1994 the multinational chemical companies were still struggling with ma-

terial compatibility using HCFC141b for CFC11 replacements.

• In 1993/94, the two German manufacturers Bosch Siemens and Liebherr managed

a conversion from HFC134a to HC600a within 9 months only (from the principle

decision to go this way under Greenpeace/FORON pressure to the launch of a first

model on the market).

• The market penetration process of hydrocarbon refrigerants (HC600a) was slower,

because also in Germany all manufacturers except FORON initially converted to

HFC134a. The demand from the German market leader Bosch Siemens and

Liebherr then gradually changed model by model to HC600a. Whereas in conver-

sion to pentane foaming safety has to be addressed in the manufacturing plant

only, in conversion to hydrocarbon refrigerant the design of each model has to be

adapted. That takes time. This also explains why in India foam conversion pre-

ceded refrigerant conversion.

• Today, isobutane is dominant in the Northern European domestic refrigerator

market and among the more energy efficient models. In Southern Europe, and for

lower cost, domestic models as well as in commercial refrigeration HFC134a are

still widely used. A gradual penetration of isobutane can be observed in the do-

mestic market of France, Spain Turkey and UK.

• Initially, Eastern Europe had largely converted to HFC134a under GEF technical

assistance. After 1996, hydrocarbon projects were supported in the Russian Fed-

eration, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan. Export opportunities to the German market

made companies such as Goronje (Slovenia) or Snaigé (Lithuania) convert from


INFRAS

HFC134a to isobutane, the same transition many Western European manufacturers

had undergone.

• Kelon, the largest refrigerator manufacturer in China had decided to apply the

isobutane technology for the Chinese market and to choose HFC134a for exports to

South Eastern Asia and US.


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3. The Indian Setting

3.1. The Indian Refrigeration Appliances Market –Recent Developments and Trends

The markets for domestic and commercial appliances have distinctive different main

characteristics which are summarised in Table 4:

Domestic refrigeration Commercial refrigeration

Choice of technology Manufacturer driven Mainly customer driven (Mul-tinationals like Coke, Pepsi, Hindustan Lever, Nestlé, UNICEF)

Number of appliance manu-facturers in the market

6 large (Allwyn, BPL-Sanyo, Electrolux, Godrej, Videocon, Whirlpool)

3 Korean brands without sig-nificant own production in India (Daewoo, Lucky Gold-star, Samsung)12

2 large13, 10 to 20 medium (such as Rockwell Industries Ltd, Rabi Run, Land-mark/Sethia) and a large number of small enterprises

Typical output per unit 250'000 to 1'000'000 units p.a. 1'000 to 50'000 units p.a.

Presence of multinationals in manufacturing

large Carrier recently entered the market

Service networks Nationwide, dedicated and franchisee based

Local to regional on basis of franchisees

Table 4: Overview on characteristics for domestic and commercial appliance markets

Table 4 shows the small to non-existing overlap of the two market segments, either the

manufacturing and service structure or the driving forces for the technology choice.

Whereas the domestic refrigeration market is large scale industries based, the commer-

cial appliance market has until recently been in the hands of a larger number of small

scale industries operating rather on a regional/local level. The pre-1991 industrial pol-

icy framework in India had, through tax privileges, allocated the manufacturing in

12 The Voltas unit in Hyderabad manufactures direct cooled refrigerators for Lucky Goldstar. Videocon in Aurangabad manufactures direct cooled refrigerators for Samsung. Technically, these CFC12 based models were up to the year 2000 comparable with respective Indian brands.

13 The Voltas unit in Hyderabad manufactures visicoolers for Pepsi Cola in larger numbers. Blue Star, which has until recently imported HFC134a based visicoolers from Vestfrost DK has recently launched an own HFC134a based product line with visicoolers and deep-freezers.


some sectors exclusively to small and medium enterprises. Commercial refrigeration

was one of these sector. Only recently also larger manufacturers with a country wide

dealer network (among them one multinational) have entered the market. In the top

segment, local products compete with products imported from Thailand and recently

also China. In the following paragraphs these two market segments will be discussed

individually.

3.1.1. Important Market Players

Domestic Refrigeration

When the ECOFRIG project started in 1992, the Indian refrigeration appliance market

was closed for foreign investments. At this time six Indian companies14 competed in

the market for domestic refrigeration appliances. With liberalisation, the landscape

changed drastically. Today the market for domestic refrigerators is shared between

eight enterprises but only three of the Indian companies remained. Today, the new

multinational companies (MNCs) hold a share of more than 65% of the market. Figure

2 shows the market shares for 2000/2001of the eight enterprises in the domestic refrig-

erator market. In this period alone, the combined market share of the Indian companies

dropped from 44% to 33%, with Godrej alone having a loss of 7% of market share. This

can mainly be attributed to very aggressive marketing and pricing by MNCs and the

growth of the frost-free segment of which MNCs have the major market share.

1999total sales 3.07 mio. units

Whirlpool23%

Electrolux25%Godrej

23%

Videocon13%

BPL7%

LG5%

Daewoo1%

Samsung3%

Others: LG, Samsung, Daew ooNote: Electrolux figures also include sales under brand names Allw yn and Kelvinator

2000total sales 3.22 mio. units

Whirlpool28%

Electrolux24%

Godrej16%

Videocon11%

BPL6%

LG8%

Samsung6%

Daewoo1%

Figure 2: Recent development of market shares in domestic refrigerator market. (Economic Times 2001).

14 Allwyn, BPL, Godrej-GE, Kelvinator, Videocon, Voltas


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Total sales figures of domestic refrigerators developed quite unsteadily in the past

(Figure 3). The average annual growth rate over the last decade was 12%. In 1999 and

2000 the market showed only a very moderate growth in the order of 5% p.a.. This is

significantly below the projections made when the ECOFRIG project started in 1992.

Production of domestic refrigerators in India

0

1

2

3

4

90-91 91-92 92-93 93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01

millio

n unit

s

Figure 3: Production of domestic refrigerators in India from 1990 – 2001. (Based on esti-mates by Manufacturers, Economic Times 2001, CII 1997).

Regarding technology know-how for the appliance and compressor design, MNCs

have direct access to the global know-how of the parent company. The Indian compa-

nies operating in the market in 1994 have either been taken over by MNCs or have en-

tered a joint venture or became a technology partner: Videocon has a joint venture with

Necchi Italy for the production of compressors and cooperates with Samsung for re-

frigerators. BPL procured compressor technology from Sanyo. Godrej and Videocon

purchased technology for no-frost refrigerators from Matsushita. A Joint Venture be-

tween Godrej and General Electrics has recently been terminated and therefore Godrej

is currently without an international partner.

The compressors for domestic refrigerators are being supplied by five sources: Tecum-

seh (Ballabgarh), BPL Compressors (Hyderabad), Godrej (Mumbai, for own require-

ment), Electrolux (Waroda former Voltas, Hyderabad, former Allwyn) and to a small

extent from imports and from supplies of Kirloskar Copeland.

Today the foam for all domestic appliances is blown with cyclopentane, except for

Whirlpool, BPL and Electrolux. Whirlpool, at the new Pune plant, uses HCFC141b as


foam blowing agent on a transitional basis. The Faridabad plant of Whirlpool operated

in early 2001 still with CFC11, the same applied to Electrolux and BPL. Regarding the

refrigerant used, all manufacturers except Godrej Appliances Ltd. opted for HFC134a

as the preferred non-CFC refrigerant. Godrej framed its proposal to the Multilateral

Fund for conversion to hydrocarbon refrigerant (isobutane/HC600a) and recently

launched a no-frost model on the basis of hydrocarbon blend refrigerant

(HC290/HC600a). Conversion from HC blend to HC600a will take place when com-

pressor development will be completed. As well as in Videocon and Electrolux, work

continues on the development of hydrocarbon based appliances (so far however at a

sub-strategic level). Tecumseh has plans to launch in 2002 a compressor line based on

hydrocarbon. Compressors for HC blend and HC600a are also offered by BPL on a pi-

lot marketing basis. The distribution network of BPL is, however, not yet at the level of

competitors to meet service demands across the country.

The technology choice for domestic appliances is entirely manufacturer driven; There

is no significant market driver originating from the environmental awareness of the

customers. The primary market force is the selling price, followed by quality (and war-

ranty), design and features of the unit. Even today, the main bulk of the units entering

the market are tstill based on CFC12 as refrigerant fluid. Only Whirlpool is producing a

larger share of their output on a HFC134a basis (100’000-150'000 units/year). The mar-

ket penetration of non-CFC systems is expected to increase quickly starting from late

2001 due to the India ODS regulation banning production of new equipment using

CFCs from 2003 onwards (see section 3.2 for details). All the major appliance manufac-

turing industries in the domestic and commercial appliance segment are expected to

have completed their investment projects under Multilateral Fund assistance for con-

version to non-CFC technology by early 2002.

Commercial Refrigeration

The situation in the commercial appliance market is distinctively different from the

domestic appliance segment. On the manufacturer side, there is a large number of me-

dium to small companies involved in manufacturing or assembling commercial refrig-

eration appliances like bottle coolers, deep freezers, visi-coolers, water coolers and dis-

play cabinets. The annual output of these manufacturing units varies from some ten to

some ten thousand units a year. Some of the larger small scale producers are Rockwell

Industries and Sethia Appliances Hyderabad, RabiRun Bangalore, Reliance and V.

Krishna Mumbai and Anand Refrigeration in New Delhi.


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Under the HIDECOR project (refer to section 4.7) a field survey on the activity profile

of 246 small and micro enterprises engaged in servicing of refrigeration and air condi-

tioning appliances was conducted in 2000/2001. This survey revealed that 40% of these

servicing firms with 4-5 employees in average are also engaged in assembly of com-

mercial refrigeration appliances (CIMI 2001). These findings indicate that the commer-

cial refrigeration market is highly diverse and rich in still predominantly local niches.

While larger and well established small scale enterprises will have to phase-out the use

of CFCs by 1.1.2003 these small and micro enterprises active in assembly and servicing

would most likely declare all their refrigerant consumption as “service demand” under

the Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation) Rules, 2000 (MoEF 2000) and will there-

fore be in a position to install new CFC12 based units also after 1.1.2003.

There is no reliable source of information for total sales figures in the commercial ap-

pliance sector. The total number of plug in units produced annually in form of visi-

coolers, chest coolers, water coolers and deep freezers is estimated to be in the order of

100'000 to 200'000 units per year, with a quickly growing demand.

In the commercial appliance market the technology choice is almost entirely customer

driven, with MNCs such as Pepsi, Coca Cola, Unilever and Nestlé and some larger

Indian companies such as Amul Dairy and Vadilal as the main market forces. On the

government side, the local UNICEF units are major customers for vaccine refrigerators

and freezers. The large number of individual shop keepers will buy appliances with

whatever technology available. The decision will be entirely based on costs and reli-

ability of the product. Unilever and Coca Cola have recently introduced corporate en-

vironmental policies to phase-out HFC134a based units on a global scale for the benefit

of more environmental friendly hydrocarbon based systems. Back in 1999, Unilever has

put more than 200 deep freezers with the hydrocarbon blend in the field for testing

under Indian conditions, with very positive results. Coca Cola started first initiatives

towards development of environment friendly and energy efficient appliances on HC

basis in early 2001. UNICEF still recommends HFC134a as the preferred refrigerant,

leaving it open to the individual countries to also opt for hydrocarbon refrigerants. Up

to date, the Indian Ministry of Health has only started using HFC134a based systems

on a larger scale for the cold chain.

Rockwell Ltd. introduced a bubble top water cooler based on hydrocarbon blend re-

frigerant of which approx. 2’000 units were sold since September 1998. In 2001, a deep

freezer model will also be launched on larger scale. Landmark/Sethia Appliances Ltd.


also placed a bubble top water cooler with HC blend refrigerant in the market of which

approx. 3'000 units have been sold up to date.

The compressors to meet the demand for hydrocarbon based products have up to the

end of 2000 mainly been manufactured by Kirloskar Copeland Ltd (KCL). They sold

approx. 2’700 HC blend compressors. Some demand has also been met by BPL Hy-

derabad. Because KCL has a wider dealer network, small manufacturers prefer to use

KCL compressors. In case of service needs (compressor burn outs), these compressors

are available across country.

3.1.2. Consumer Trends

Domestic Refrigeration

The most important product in the domestic appliance market is still the single door

165l direct cooled refrigerator. In this segment, manufacturers compete for customers

mainly on the criteria of price and some design features such as special shelves and

cambered front doors. This model serves the needs of the majority of Indian users in

smaller towns and in rural areas. These customers face unreliable power services, they

buy a refrigerator as a basic commodity and cannot afford to spend money on luxury

aspects.

The largest growth rates and the best profit margins for the manufacturers however are

in the no-frost appliance segment (main market in metropolitan and larger cities). In

2000, no-frost technology had a market share of slightly below 20%. The Korean manu-

facturers focus almost entirely on this segment. As no-frost appliances are costlier

items and less sensitive to street price, there is also a significant number of imported

appliances – despite the relatively high import tax.

Commercial Refrigeration

In the commercial appliance market a trend can be observed by the MNCs like Coke,

Pepsi and Unilever to ask for appliances with glass door (visi-coolers) or lid or mobile

refrigeration units. This follows international trends for product marketing. Besides,

also smaller units are being developed in order to reduce investment costs and electric-

ity consumption to meet the demand for expanding in more rural and remote areas.


INFRAS

3.2. The Indian RAC Sector Strategy and Ozone Policy

India has ratified the Montreal Protocol and its London amendment in 1992. Issues

related to the Montreal Protocol are dealt with by the Ministry of Environment and

Forests (MoEF), and within it the Ozone Cell has been established to monitor and im-

plement the ODS phase-out programs. Under the Montreal Protocol, India is classified

as a “Large Volume Consuming” country, due to its significant consumption of CFCs.

At the same time India is also a significant producer of CFCs. The data reported to the

Ozone Secretariat by India for 1997 indicates that the country consumed 6’705 MT of

CFCs which was slightly lower than the consumption of the previous year. However,

production of CFCs by India increased over the same time period and is significantly

higher than consumption, therefore India being a net exporter of ozone depleting sub-

stances.

The country program dates back to 1993 and is outdated today. Under the obligations

by the Montreal Protocol and the phase-out schedule for Article 5 countries15, India has

adopted a national strategy for ODS phase-out. In keeping with this strategy, the In-

dian government has introduced a number of fiscal incentives for equipment for ODS

phase-out and conducted a number of activities for awareness raising in this sector.

The most significant measure is the recent notification of the Ozone Depleting Sub-

stances (Regulation and Control) Rules 2000 which restricts the producers of CFCs as

well as the manufacturers of CFC based products16. On the side of appliance manufac-

turing, the ODS rules foresee a total ban of CFC based refrigeration and air-

conditioning appliances as of January 1, 2003. For the CFC production sector, a gradual

phase-out strategy was approved including grants in the amount of USD 80 million for

compensation of the production industry and USD 2 million for technical assistance.

Total phase-out of production is targeted for the year 2010.

Under the ODS (2000) rules, there is also a registration scheme foreseen for any parties

handling ozone depleting substances: Producers, sellers, stockists, traders and dealers

had to register until July 2001 with the Ministry of Environment and Forests or the

Small Industries Servicing Institutes in the country. However, the rate of registration

has so far been very limited.

15 see section 1.3.1

16 see http://envfor.nic.in/legis/ods/odsrcr.html


Being aware that the above outlined policy measures will not bring down the con-

sumption of ODS to zero by 2010 due to the large consumption of CFCs for servicing

the existing population of CFC based refrigerators17, a project has recently been ap-

proved by the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund for the development of a

national strategy to reduce and eliminate the use of CFC refrigerants in the servicing

sector in India. This strategy will be developed in co-operation with Germany, Switzer-

land, UNEP and UNDP. On the side of Switzerland, INFRAS will be the responsible

agency.

17 Out of the 3'000 MT ODS used in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning sector in India, almost 70% or 2'000 MT are being used for servicing and maintenance of the existing refrigeration appliance population (1997 figures).


INFRAS

4. Overview of Outputs and Achievements of the ECOFRIG Project

4.1. Introduction

The principal objectives of the ECOFRIG project were:

• To transfer know-how and technical information to the Indian industry and to

research partners, enabling industry to take an “informed decision”;

• To support adaptive research and pilot production as needed to make the hydro-

carbon technology a viable option under Indian conditions.

The project shall contribute to establish a level playing field between synthetic and

natural fluids. The project has been funded in addition to the Swiss and German con-

tributions to the Multilateral Fund

Based on the experiences gained (two cyclopentane-based pilot facilities for insulation

foam-blowing having been erected in collaboration with two domestic refrigeration

industry partners in 1995/96), the enterprises in the sector – with the exception of one –

have chosen the pentane foam technology for phasing out CFC11.

By 1998, three major domestic refrigerator manufacturers have got their conversion

projects based on cyclopentane approved from the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal

Protocol, and these three projects were completed (Godrej, Videocon, Voltas/Allwyn).

Through TÜV Germany the project has assisted Godrej and Voltas/Allwyn in this

process. Safe designs for refrigeration appliances using isobutane as refrigerant have

been developed for two no-frost and two direct-cooled refrigerator models. Prototypes

have been tested. Godrej launched in February 2001 the production of the first no-frost

refrigerator based on hydrocarbon refrigerant (see section 4.2).

During the second project phase (1997–2000) the cooperation focused on establishing

HC-based pilot plant production lines in cooperation with the two domestic refrigera-

tion industry partners Godrej-GE Appliances Ltd. and VIDEOCON Appliances Ltd. on

appliance conversion in cooperation with smaller-scale commercial refrigeration

manufacturers who use hydrocarbon blends. In September 1998, the first commercial

appliance (a water cooler) based on a propane/isobutane blend was launched by Rock-


Rockwell Industries Ltd. Hyderabad. Since then 2’000 HC based appliances such as

water coolers or deep freezers were produced under pilot production activities.

It took domestic refrigerators on the basis of HC blend two more years to follow. Ac-

cordingly, hydrocarbon refrigerant is in the process of being introduced to the market

place, initially through imports, in the mid term range from 2003 onwards from

sources available within India.

Special attention is also given to servicing and retrofitting (i.e. replacing CFC12 in ex-

isting refrigeration equipment such as vaccine freezers of which 40,000 units are oper-

ated across the country in health posts).

4.2. The Case of the Godrej No-frost Refrigerator

Figure 4: No-Frost Refrigerator on HC blend basis launched by Godrej in January 2001.

Godrej Appliances Ltd. (formerly Godrej-GE) joined ECOFRIG in the very beginning of

the project. First interactions regarding development of hydrocarbon refrigerant based

appliances started under phase 1. In the beginning development work in India focused

at the direct cooler segment as these appliances are relatively easy to convert to hydro-

carbon refrigerant. In March 2000 the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund

approved the 2 million USD refrigerant conversion project of Godrej Appliances based

on isobutane refrigerant. Godrej taking the refrigerant decision in favour of hydrocar-


INFRAS

bons is the result of technology transfer activities going back to 1995 with a visit at the

Liebherr factory in Germany. A concept study on how to convert not only direct cooled

models but also no-frost refrigerators to hydrocarbon refrigerant was conducted in

1996.

Hydrocarbon based no-frost technology was perceived as very difficult due to the

Japanese defrost heater technology with high surface temperatures commonly being

used in India. Therefore, Godrej initially opted for HFC134a as the preferred refriger-

ant for no-frost technology. For marketing reasons, Godrej nevertheless emphasised

early on the strategic importance of no-frost technology for the hydrocarbon technol-

ogy. The market segment for no-frost appliances is less price sensitive and therefore

absorbs more easily some additional safety related costs. In addition, no-frost appli-

ances offer all kinds of possible technical problems. Technical solutions for no-frost

appliances would, with regard to the use of explosion proof components, therefore

contribute to address technical solutions for the relevant aspects of converting also di-

rect cooler models.

Under ECOFRIG phase 2, Liebherr in Germany guided the development of a no-frost

product by the R&D team of Godrej. Based on the concept study completed in 1996, the

LIEBHERR no-frost evaporator (with an integrated tube heater) obtained in 1997, had

been used to develop a first order no-frost prototype. Tests with this tube heater based

prototype (surface temperature below 280oC) revealed that the defrosting performance

was inadequate under the climate conditions of hot Indian summers. The solution to

this problem was found by modifying the quartz heater used by Godrej with an alu-

minium tin to improve its heat transfer properties (keep surface temperature below

360oC, 100oC lower than the self ignition temperature of hydrocarbon refrigerant). Test

series including tests simulating the leak of the full HC-charge were conducted with

the second order prototype. Godrej was able to address safety with a combination of

design changes and an exhaustive testing programme including testing this prototype

for 6 months under “simulated leak conditions”.

Conversion of direct cooled models to hydrocarbon is easier from a technical view-

point. Also the overall cost effectiveness of converting to hydrocarbon blend is better

than compared to HFC134a. In the direct cooler market there is however a tough price

competition where 100 INR up or down in price do matter. As long as competing mul-

tinational companies produce direct cooled refrigerators on the basis of CFC12, Godrej

cannot afford to convert these models to hydrocarbon blend because there would be a


price increment taking care of the ex-proof parts in the compressor and refrigerator

(this market segment would be converted in course of 2002 only). Hydrocarbon blend

does allow for cost cutting in compressor as compared to HFC134a or the isobutane

(HC600a) options.

Consequently, Godrej launched on January 22nd, 2001 a new product line: Pentacool, a

series of no-frost direct cooled refrigerators based on HC blend with electronic controls

integrated into the table top. This is a fully CFC, HCFC and HFC free product. The 220

liter no-frost model targets the market presently held by HCFC141b/HFC134a based

refrigerators such as products manufactured by Whirlpool, other MNCs or products

being imported from Korea. Prior to this official launch, more than 10'000 refrigerators

with non-CFC refrigerants were produced making use of the pilot production charging

line installed under the ECOFRIG phase 2 project. Out of these 10'000 units more than

6’000 units have been based on hydrocarbon refrigerant (mostly hydrocarbon blend)

and were sold at discounted rates for test marketing purposes. The balance 4’000 units

(mainly the previous 240l frost free model) were produced on the basis of HFC 134a.

Based on the results of these pilot activities, an isotainer with HC blend refrigerant was

imported from UK and reached the factory by the end of May 2001. A special bulk

storage tank was especially for this purpose completed. With an assured HC refriger-

ant supply, the production from the charging and leak detection line installed under

the ECOFRIG phase 2 project has gradually been increased. By the end of 2001 the

monthly production reached 15’000-20'000 HC refrigerators. Next steps in the Godrej

business plan for ODS phase-out are as follows:

• Conversion of foam blowing in the second factory of Godrej in Mohali, North In-

dia, to cyclopentane (retrofit by company own engineering department).

• The conversion of all three manufacturing lines of the Mumbai/Vikroli factory of

Godrej to non-CFC refrigerant is pending and depends on a decision by the Execu-

tive Committee of the Montreal Protocol (ExCom) regarding a sanctioned project

amount following an equity increase from 60% to 100%. When the ExCom ap-

proved the 2 million USD refrigerant conversion project of Godrej in March 2000,

40% of the equity was still with General Electric. In early 2001 the 40% foreign eq-

uity shares were procured by the Godrej family. Accordingly, Godrej expects to be

eligible for 100% funding in place of 60%. Unless this issue is resolved soon, the

World Bank project “refrigerant” cannot be implemented in time. The delays

caused by policy matters pending at the Multilateral Fund are in clash with the


INFRAS

1.1.2003 phase-out deadline for use of CFC12 refrigerant. Under this scenario, the

charging line supplied under ECOFRIG is gaining on importance as this facility al-

lows Godrej to introduce CFC and HFC free models on the market and to manu-

facture some 200'000 refrigerators or 25% of the current production on a CFC free

basis.

• The conversion from HC blend to isobutane is planned to follow 3-5 years later

when R&D capacities are free to address the compressor development. The con-

version from HC blend to HC600a would gradually be dependent on conversion

of compressor manufacturing.

Lessons and evidence for synthesis:

• Technology partner agreements entered with Liebherr, a leading European manufacturer,

on technical design solutions for direct cooled and no-frost refrigerators were an essential

success factor.

• Personal contacts and factory visits were instrumental in attracting the interest of Liebherr

for such a technology co-operation. Liebherr’s open technology cooperation policy signifi-

cantly contributed to the transfer of the technology to Godrej. Typicall, essential know-how

on non-CFC technologies is not freely available on the international market.

• The “stop and go” type application of Multilateral Fund policies in the field of incremental

cost of compressor conversion and in the issue of foreign equity affected the position of

Godrej in competition with multinational companies.

• In phase 1 and 2 of the ECOFRIG project an additional investment assistance to industry

– though small compared to the total investment cost of the conversion – was instrumental

to demonstrate the technology at pilot production scale. The input was essential for the In-

dian industry as a whole to be more or less in compliance with the phase-out schedule set

by the Montreal Protocol.


What was the impact of the ECOFRIG project on Godrej for taking informed decisions

on technology options?

The visit to FORON in 1993 had a lasting impact on appraising the hydrocarbon tech-

nology not known to the Indian industry up to this date. Subsequently, priority was

given to foam during phase 1 as here the technology choice could be taken in favour of

pentane as blowing agent on the basis of information acquired up to 1995/1996 (pilot

plant);

In case of absence of a project the decision on refrigerant would not have been taken in

time or it would have been taken in favour of HFC134a following the example of

MNCs operating in the country. Finally, cost effectiveness consideration and the visit

to Kelon, China in 1998 allowed Godrej to take a decision in favour of the hydrocarbon

refrigerant. General Electrics Inc. (GE), Godrej’s partner until very recently, did not

influence the evaluation of technology options. GE had no relevant know-how match-

ing Indian market and climate conditions.


• The opportunity given in 1993 to see with own eyes the “greenfreeze” technology in opera-

tion at FORON Niederschmiedeberg was an essential success factor for building confi-

dence for a technology which initially appeared to be a weird idea to Indian industry part-

ners.

• HFC134a was the most popular choice when the ECOFRIG project started, and this re-

mained so throughout the project under the leading influence of multinational and Korean

companies. The industry invested considerable amounts of funds into the development of

HC technology. This process was fast for Indian conditions though to outsiders it may ap-

pear as slow progress.

• Only the consorted own development efforts supported by research institutions, the eco-

nomic advantages of HC over HFC 134a and visits abroad could convince the higher

Godrej management to finally take a refrigerant decision in favour of HC600a against the

HFC134a decision taken by all the competitors.


INFRAS

4.3. The Case of Hydrocarbon Refrigerant Supply

Figure 5: Hydrocarbon refrigerant cylinders and disposable cans imported by the ECOFRIG project.

From the very beginning, the project has been putting significant efforts in facilitating

the setting up of a reliable supply chain for refrigerant. Despite these efforts, the goal of

establishing a commercial supply chain could not be achieved so far and thus remains

a critical issue. In the following the history and the reasons for this situation are sum-

marised.

In the initial phase of the project, limited quantities of hydrocarbon refrigerants were

imported in a pragmatic approach, outside the standard procedures for import and

handling of these substances. The “pragmatic” approach was necessary as the Indian

explosive rules are not compatible with any international or European standards and

therefore it is not possible to use any standard refrigerant cylinder of international

suppliers. To work outside the Indian regulations was considered acceptable as long as

the quantities served research and development purposes only and imports had the

approval of the Indian Government. With the import of several small consignments the

requirements for the project activities were covered and a small stock was built up.

The possibility of sourcing the raw materials for hydrocarbon refrigerant from refiner-

ies in India was assessed in parallel through consultancy mandates under ECOFRIG.

The results were positive in the sense that first trials with adjusted separation columns

yielded high quality propane and isobutane which qualified as refrigerant grade.

However, the problem was that the minimum quantities offered by the industries were


much above the actual market demand. In addition, a solution for the distribution

chain (bottling, handling) was lacking.

In 1998, when Rockwell launched the first appliance on hydrocarbon blend basis, sud-

denly the demand stepped up and larger quantities were required. At this time nego-

tiations for setting up regular supplies had already started with CALOR UK – a manu-

facturer of hydrocarbon refrigerants – and SHV India as a possible distributor in India.

The amount of refrigerant needed made it necessary to follow all relevant safety stan-

dards and import procedures. An agreement was found with SHV India for the import

of a larger batch of refrigerant on a pilot activity basis. Getting the design approval for

refrigerant cylinders and valves from the Indian Chief Controller of Explosives took

almost one year, much longer than anticipated. After the approvals were obtained the

cylinders were manufactured and tested in India and shipped to UK for filling.

It was assumed that through this time consuming process the basis for a regular supply

chain could be established and the “chicken and egg” situation (low market require-

ment versus investment needed for setting up the supply chain) could finally be over-

come. SHV also investigated thoroughly the possibility of using locally produced raw

materials with a positive conclusion. However, soon after, in the year 2000, SHV India

faced heavy financial pressure when the exploration prices for domestic LPG rose, and

at the same time the company was not in a position to increase the government con-

trolled end user prices. This resulted in heavy losses for the company. As the refriger-

ant business is comparatively negligible in size compared to domestic LPG trade, SHV

decided to focus on the core business and stepped out of the refrigerant business.

With the withdrawal of SHV, the availability issue became once again critical, espe-

cially as Godrej had made a decision to launch a product on hydrocarbon blend basis

on a large scale, and also Rockwell Industries and Sethia Appliances were manufactur-

ing larger numbers of appliances with this blend. In the second half of the year 2000 the

situation became critical and various options for setting up supplies were assessed by

the ECOFRIG project. To have at least some refrigerant for running the training ses-

sions organised by the project, solutions were investigated to fill disposable aerosol

cans locally in India. Aerosol cans are much easier to handle and do not fall under the

explosives rules if kept below 500 ml size. In late 2001, a trial batch of disposable cans

was filled by Midas Care Pharmaceuticals, an Aerosol filler in Aurangabad, with HC

blend and HFC134a.


INFRAS

Towards early 2001, some movement was observed with CALOR UK and the Energy

Resources Group Australia investigating in setting up own supply chains for their

products. However, none of these companies had started commercial supplies as per

end of 2001, and a reliable schedule for market introduction is not foreseeable.

To cater for emergent needs, INFRAS launched in the second half of 2001 a final series

of import activities under the ECOFRIG umbrella, backed by industry requests and a

JPRC decision. This included supplies of cylinders with 21kg of CARE30 each through

the route CALOR UK, BOC UK and BOC India. For this activity CALOR UK supplied

the refrigerant, BOC UK provided the India approved cylinders and valves and BOC

India effected the imports and applied for the import licence. In parallel to above 400

disposable cans with HC blend refrigerant were imported from CALOR UK.


• To be successful, a technology transfer project which targets development of a new market

needs to address “chicken and egg” situations with respect to vital supporting components

for the technology. The related efforts can cause significant transaction costs until market

forces become reliable and self propelling.

• The necessary efforts for adaptation of a “global” technology to the requirements of a local

industry standard can be significant. For many developing countries this process may be

difficult to predict reliably due to the countries' specific bureaucratic setup and procedures.


4.4. The Case of the Calorimeter

Figure 6: Calorimeter built by Shree Refrigerations, Karad for IIT Delhi.

Today's compressor market has very much become globalised. Beside Brazil and

China, India is the only developing country with a significant refrigerator compressor

production capacity, and it is the only country globally producing exclusively for the

domestic market. When ECOFRIG phase 2 started with its focus on introducing hydro-

carbons as refrigerant fluid, there were six manufacturers of hermetic compressors in

India18. Whereas in the domestic refrigerator market a significant share of the market

demand is met by imported units, the commercial appliances in India run still today

entirely on compressors from Indian production. The reason is that the range of operat-

ing conditions in India is very severe, reaching very high ambient temperatures up to

45° C and installation sites with high dust levels. The performance record of imported

units is therefore often poor.

A significant market potential for hydrocarbon refrigerants is seen from the commer-

cial appliance market. Thus enabling local development of hydrocarbon compressors

was felt to be a key success factor in the technology transfer. While the general know-

how for the development of hydrocarbon compressors is similar to that of other refrig-

erants, the main barrier is the availability of a suitable testing device called calorimeter.

18 Godrej, Voltas/Allwyn (today Electrolux), BPL, Sri-Ram (today Tecumseh), Videocon (with imported Necchi kits) and Kirloskar Copeland.


INFRAS

A calorimeter is the key instrument for any compressor development because it allows

the measuring of performance and efficiency in any desirable operating condition

(pressures and temperatures). It is a highly sophisticated, accurate and thus costly

piece of equipment.

The calorimeters installed at the Indian compressor manufacturers had all been de-

signed for non-flammable refrigerants. As a calorimeter contains more than 1 kg of

refrigerant and is prone to refrigerant leakage, any unit suitable for testing with hydro-

carbon refrigerants has to be designed from the conceptual layout itself to meet strin-

gent safety requirements. Retrofitting of an existing installation to make it suitable for

flammable refrigerants is in most cases impossible or uneconomic.

A major barrier for Indian compressor manufacturers to invest into a calorimeter suit-

able for hydrocarbon refrigerants is the fact that the decision on refrigerant is being

taken by the appliance manufacturers and not by the compressor producer. In an early

stage of market development this results again in a typical “chicken and egg situation”:

the compressor manufacturer has no control over market development and on the

other hand the appliance manufacturer requires a suitable compressor to start develop-

ing the market for the new technology.

Under ECOFRIG project phase 1, co-financing was provided for testing Indian de-

signed hydrocarbon compressors from Allwyn, BPL and Kirloskar-Copeland (KCL) at

the calorimeter of Re/Gent in the Netherlands to prove the feasibility of local devel-

opment of hydrocarbon compressors and generate confidence in the technology on the

side of the Indian compressor manufacturers.

For phase 2 an offer was made to all Indian compressor manufacturers that the project

would co-finance a turn key ready calorimeter suitable for hydrocarbon refrigerants.

KCL was the only party who was responsive to the offer made by the ECOFRIG pro-

ject. Already at this stage it was a pre-set project objective that the testing facilities

should not be entirely limited to the proprietary framework of a commercial company

but similar capacities should be created in a public domain institution, in this case the

Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi (IITD). Another aim of this subproject was

to involve also Indian manufacturers of calorimeters as part of the technology transfer

process.


In co-operation with KCL, IITD and an experienced international consultant in this

field (Stephan Sicars), the technical specifications were developed. The tender process

resulted in the receipt of two quotations. The quotation from the US based world mar-

ket leader ETC was cheaper for two turn key ready installations but did exclude any

licensing of local rebuilding and did not match the specified capacity range. The offer

from the small German company BACHER was much more flexible and accepted local

licensing schemes and local assembly in India, which was seen as an important asset

from a technology transfer viewpoint. The flexibility shown by the German party in the

subsequent negotiations – which contrasted the US bidder – led to a contractual ar-

rangement which included the following:

• A turn key ready installation to be delivered to KCL,

• A set of vital parts for local “cloning” in India of a second unit for IIT Delhi, in-

cluding an extensive training for the customers and the Indian calorimeter

manufacturer Shree Refrigerations,

• Additional licenses and blue prints for rebuilding the unit locally for Godrej Ap-

pliances and BPL compressors.

The final package of equipment, services and training was only slightly more expen-

sive than the ETC offer for two turn key ready installations.

During the pre-acceptance visit by the Indian parties to the workshop of BACHER in

Germany technical problems occurred. The process to remedy the problems was time

consuming and required additional visits of the Indian parties to Germany which also

included intensive training in operation and maintenance of the unit. The need for in-

tensive technical discussions made it apparent that language barriers had widely been

underestimated. At this point of the process it became evident that additional and neu-

tral expertise was needed to find solutions for the remaining technical problems and to

mediate between the parties. For this purpose Mr. Martien Janssen of Re/Gent Nether-

lands was mandated to assist the process. Even after installation of the equipment at

KCL factory in Karad, technical problems still prevailed. Through input of significant

extra efforts from all parties involved a status was reached where the major technical

problems had been solved. In total, the subproject finally had a delay of more than 22

month compared to the original schedule. The installation of the calorimeter allowed

KCL to initially develop a range of four different models of hydrocarbon compressors.


INFRAS

Further models are under development. By the end of 2001 more than 5'000 hydrocar-

bon compressors were sold to customers. Inter alia Unilever India used KCL compres-

sors for their field tests with hydrocarbon appliances. Despite some pending problems

with the calorimeter, KCL makes heavy use of the testing facility provided under the

project arrangement.

The company Shree Refrigerations, Karad had been mandated to develop an identical

calorimeter on the basis of a set of vital parts supplied by BACHER, Germany for a

calorimeter to be operated by IIT Delhi. In setting up this “clone” of the KCL calorime-

ter, Shree faced problems similar to those reported for the KCL unit, mainly originating

from the limited possibilities for modifications of the control software. When the de-

velopment faced a deadlock which could only be overcome with major assistance from

the German technology supplier, Shree Refrigerations made a proposal for a major

redesign based on locally supported soft- and hardware solutions and an entirely dif-

ferent overall concept. Based on the high level of technical skills of the company and

intensive training and know-how transfer received by BACHER and Re/Gent, the

management of Shree Refrigerations was confident to offer a fully automatic calorime-

ter of own design with costs distinctively below the international products. Within

only four and a half months the process of development, manufacturing and factory

acceptance by the customer was completed. All specifications were met or exceeded.

The calorimeter will be become operational at IIT Delhi by end of February 2002.



• The calorimeter enabled KCL to develop four compressor models for hydrocarbon blend and

sell approx. 5'000 units up to end 2001.

• The objective of institutional strengthening of Indian technology suppliers was successfully

met as Shree Refrigerations is today in a position to offer a highly sophisticated automatic

calorimeter at costs significantly below comparable international products. Additional or-

ders have already been received.

• The selection of a small scale enterprise without international experience as a technology

supplier led to problems and partly threatened the implementation of this subproject.

• Communication skills are a critical component in the transfer of complex technology.

• In most of today’s sophisticated technical installations software plays a vital role for the

functioning. Therefore also software components need adequate local support systems.

Even if standard software is used, different language versions exist and subordinate pro-

gram parts may be programmed in different languages.

• For complex equipment such as a calorimeter “soft” measures like instruction and training

in operation and maintenance are likely to cause similar or higher costs than the hardware

itself.

• It is difficult to find industries which are willing to participate in open and comprehensive

technology transfer processes for complex technologies, unless significant funds are made

available to cover the intellectual property rights involved.


INFRAS

4.5. Research Support I: Life Tests by NCL

Figure 7: Life testing equipment used for compressor testing at NCL Pune. Left: imported equipments from FKW, Germany. Right: Indian made test stand.

The reliability of the compressor is a very important factor in the Indian market. Cus-

tomers would not opt for a refrigerant which reduces product reliability and by this

increases maintenance costs. The same applies for appliance manufacturers having to

cover warranty claims. The refrigerant has a major impact on the mean time between

failure of a compressor as it will influence material compatibility and affect lubrication

properties. While such issues are being considered when developing new compressors

for a particular refrigerant, the impact of a refrigerant on reliability is most critical for

retrofitting of existing CFC12 based systems. As retrofitting with hydrocarbon blends

is seen as one of the most interesting fields of application for hydrocarbon refrigerants,

the impact of these refrigerants on reliability of compressors which are originally de-

signed for CFC12 is a major interest.

When ECOFRIG phase 2 started, no published data was available on this issue. There-

fore it was decided that the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune (NCL) should take

up basic research in this field and perform systematic life testing of CFC12 compressors

with a range of refrigerants, simulating all possible options for retrofitting of the exist-

ing appliance population. A life test is designed to simulate the working load of a full

lifetime of a compressor of several years. To get results in a reasonable time period, the

laboratory tests have to be accelerated and should still produce results which are rep-

resentative for normal operating conditions. As NCL did not have the know-how to

develop an accelerated life test rig and suitable testing and evaluation procedures, a co-

operation with FKW Hannover was started. Besides providing NCL with two sets of

test equipment suitable for all possible refrigerants including hydrocarbons, also train-


ing of NCL staff in the use of this equipment at the laboratory in Hanover was in-

cluded.

The test series at NCL Pune started with two life test units supplied by FWK during

ECOFRIG phase 1. Initially comparative testing of the following refrigerant options

was foreseen: CFC 12, HFC 134a, CARE 30 (a commercial refrigerant grade hydrocar-

bon blend) and standard LPG (stenched cooking fuel). The latter was included as it

cannot be excluded that technicians will also charge this very cheap alternative to

commercial grade hydrocarbon refrigerants once retrofitting with hydrocarbon refrig-

erants is accepted by the market. All tests were performed on standard Indian made

CFC12 compressors for domestic refrigerators.

Already the first interim test results showed that all hydrocarbon options including the

stenched household LPG have a positive effect on compressor life compared to CFC 12,

whereas HFC 134a adversely affects some parameters. The presentation of these find-

ings in the international refrigeration technology conference at Perdue, US in 1999 re-

sulted in a very high interest in the work by the international research community and

relevant industry actors. Based on the feedback and response received it was decided

to enlarge the scope of the test series and include at least two compressor samples per

refrigerant to have better statistical evidence. In addition, new refrigerant options were

included, namely destenched LPG (as used for aerosol propellants from Indian sup-

plies) and locally produced samples of refrigerant grade hydrocarbons. As each test

requires two thousand hours of testing, it was only achievable within a reasonable

timeframe with an increased testing capacity at NCL. Therefore NCL mandated Shree

Refrigerations to build two additional test stands using the experience gained with the

instruments supplied by FKW.

The life tests provided NCL with the basis for a number of publications in international

research conferences which always generated a high level of attention and interest.

This significantly strengthened the position of NCL and Indian research institutions in

the international discussion on hydrocarbon based refrigeration technology.

The generated results have also had an impact on the strategy of the Multilateral Fund

Secretariat in addressing ODS phase-out in low volume consuming Article 5 countries:

only on the basis of internationally recognised research data on the impact of hydro-

carbon refrigerants on compressor life it was at all possible to include activities for ret-


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rofitting existing appliances in Refrigerant Management Plans (RMPs), e.g. in the case

of Senegal.


• HFC134a was the most popular choice when the ECOFRIG project started. Hydrocarbon

technology was looked at with great scepticism by most of the Indian actors. An R&D net-

work including the participating research institutions was developed in steps to address

technology data and designs matching Indian conditions. Research institutions performed

extremely well in this process.

• The research by NCL on life test of compressors provided the Indian compressor manufac-

turers with valuable information on expected compressor reliability under field conditions

which was not available to them when project phase 2 started as the industry did not have

suitable testing facilities. It therefore facilitated early launching of hydrocarbon compres-

sors in the Indian market.

• The research work generated internationally widely acknowledged information which in-

fluenced decision making in the Montreal Protocol bodies with regard to RMP design as

well as technology decisions in the Indian industries.

• The transfer of life test technology to NCL enabled the Indian technology partner Shree

Refrigerations to develop improved testing facilities which are better suitable for the Indian

context as they are cheaper and much simpler than the original design by FKW Hanover.

• 11 Master Theses by Post Graduates of the Pune and Shivaji Universities were completed

under this research programme at NCL. Most of these students have either been absorbed

by the industry or got scholarships for higher studies in the US.


4.6. Research Support II: IITD/Rockwell Cooperation in Commercial Refrigeration

Figure 8: Development work on Rockwell HC appliance at IIT Delhi (left), charging equipment for HC refrigerators at Rockwell, Hyderabad (right)

Rockwell Industries Ltd., Hyderabad is one of the larger – yet small scale sector based

– manufacturers in India of commercial refrigeration appliances like bottle coolers,

water coolers, deep freezers and vaccine refrigerators. In ECOFRIG phase 2 Rockwell

joined the project as a formal industry partner. This was in response to the interest

raised through the ECOFRIG phase 1 hydrocarbon conference in 1996 in which Rock-

well participated.

Based on training received by IIT Delhi and basic charging equipment and refrigerant

received from the ECOFRIG project, the company launched 1998 its first hydrocarbon

based product, a bubble top water cooler. Up until today several thousand units were

sold by Rockwell. A similar product was developed by Sethia Appliances who has also

produced a few thousand units until end of 2001.

Rockwell in collaboration with IIT Delhi also started very early to develop different

bottle cooler and vaccine refrigerator models on hydrocarbon refrigerant basis. These

hydrocarbon based units were marketed on a smaller scale as the large customers like

Pepsi, Coke and Ministry of Health responsible for the UNICEF programs did all spec-

ify either CFC12 or HFC134a as preferred refrigerant. Nevertheless, Rockwell contin-

ued to negotiate with the large customers and promoted the hydrocarbon technology

in local markets and with small customers. Along with the development of new mod-

els IIT Delhi with support from Rockwell and the ECOFRIG project started also work-

ing on defining a suitable methodology for retrofitting of existing commercial and do-


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mestic appliances. The retrofitting methodology was demonstrated under field condi-

tions to several small scale commercial refrigeration appliance manufacturers and ser-

vicing enterprises. The results of this development work has been documented in re-

ports under the ECOFRIG mandate (see Annex 2).

Along the Olympic games 2000 in Sydney, Greenpeace has succeeded to push the cor-

porate policies of Unilever and Coke in the direction of phasing out HFC134a and tak-

ing up the hydrocarbon refrigerant option. In the year 2001 Coke has asked the Indian

manufacturers to develop hydrocarbon based bottle coolers which are also signifi-

cantly more energy efficient than the models ordered earlier. A special training work-

shop for service engineers and franchisees of Coca Cola Beverages India Ltd was held

by Rockwell on January 23, 2001. It was the first exposure for them to hydrocarbon

refrigerants and has significantly contributed to raising awareness on merits and

demerits for the technology. Being aware of the wide spread reluctance among Indian

service enterprises to follow very stringent practices, Coca Cola appreciated the rela-

tive service friendliness of hydrocarbon refrigerant.

Under the ECOFRIG collaboration Rockwell in co-operation with NCL has in the

meantime started working on an energy efficient model. This unit will meet the Coke

specifications and will be tested at an internationally accredited laboratory in Austra-

lia. Coca Cola reportedly collaborates with Tecumseh Europe also on the scope of CO2

based commercial refrigeration. Under the prevailing Indian climate the scope for ap-

plication of HC blends remains, even if in Europe CO2 systems or Stirling engines

should provide a viable non-flammable alternative to hydrocarbon refrigerants. Rock-

well was also one of the main partner for small scale industry based training activities

under the HIDECOR pilot phase (see section 4.7).

In the light of future priorities of the market IIT Delhi started substantial R&D work to

develop Isobutane (HC-600a) compressors. Isobutane compressor technology has been

shared with some of the compressor and domestic refrigeration manufacturers. In close

co-operation with the industry, significant work has been made regarding design and

development of energy efficient commercial refrigeration and domestic refrigeration

appliances using HC refrigerant.



• IIT Delhi’s research on performance of appliances was demand driven. This institute has

built the capacity to support small and medium sized industries active in the commercial

sector. This also includes design and development of energy efficient commercial and do-

mestic refrigeration appliances using HC refrigerants, which may become an even more

important aspect in future development work.

• The 1996 Delhi conference on hydrocarbon technology was instrumental to reach out to

small scale sector enterprises such as Rockwell.

• The methodology for retrofitting existing CFC and HFC based domestic and commercial

refrigeration appliances and the findings from comparative performance evaluation and

field test results of appliances retrofitted with HC and other blends is relevant even in an

international context as other developing countries are likely to adopt the HC based retrofit

strategy.s

• Under this research collaboration a number of internationally published research papers

resulted from one PhD study, around 20 master and 7 to 8 B.Tech studies.

4.7. Skill training in the service sector: the launch of the HIDECOR Project

Figure 9: Technician training under HIDECOR in Hyderabad(left) and Delhi (right)

The complete phase-out of CFCs up to 2010 in India will face main constraints in the

refrigeration servicing sector as more than 20 million CFC based refrigerators will still


INFRAS

be in use by 2003, when the use of CFCs will be banned from manufacturing new ap-

pliances. Service enterprises are yet ill prepared to adopt new and more demanding

non-CFC technologies.

As a result a pilot phase of the project on “Human and Institutional Development in

Ecological Refrigeration” (HIDECOR) was started early 1998 under the umbrella of the

ECOFRIG project. At this time no attempts had been made even at an international

level to approach the Micro- and Small Enterprises (MSEs) based servicing workshops

in large Article 5 countries like India. Therefore an action learning approach was ap-

plied for the pilot phase of the HIDECOR project. This pilot phase ended in December

2000. It generated important information on how to approach the MSEs on a wider

scale in this sector. The learning experience is important for two reasons: a) to make

sure that the CFC phase-out targets of India are achieved, and b) to enhance skills of

these enterprises and their 60,000-70,000 technicians in order to keep them in business.

HIDECOR therefore has a “purely classical” development orientation with targeting

underprivileged groups and self employment as compared to the ECOFRIG project

with the focus on large industry partners. The focus of HIDECOR on empowerment

and employment most likely saved the ECOFRIG project: Following the diplomatic

unrest which emerged from the nuclear testing by India in 1998, SDC indicated that

they would have immediately stopped the project for diplomatic reasons if there

would have been only the ECOFRIG project.

The HIDECOR project has been conceived by the partners throughout the pilot phase

as an undertaking complementary to the efforts under the Multilateral Fund and as a

sub-activity of ECOFRIG phase 2. HIDECOR pilot phase activities paved the ground to

launch preparations at the policy level for the formulation of an ‘Indian Refrigeration

and Air Conditioning Service Sector Strategy’ (RACSSS), which is expected to be com-

pleted in 2002. The focus of the RACSSS is to develop a proposal within the Montreal

Protocol/Multilateral Fund framework on how to address the phase-out of ozone de-

pleting substances in the servicing sector on national coverage.

The HIDECOR main phase project was launched in 2001. It operates under a separate

government agreement. The main phase is designed to maintain close links to the

RACSSS initiative and to achieve wider coverage in training SMEs not affiliated to

manufacturer networks in six Indian states. The project is to establish capacities in

training institutions to promote good practice in the maintenance of CFC-free appli-


ances and to support qualified institutions and refrigerator manufacturers as executing

agencies for the training of 5’000 technicians. It will share experience and tools devel-

oped with other protagonists and participate in the dialogue with the Ministry of Envi-

ronment and Forestry and the Directorate General for Employment and Training.

A consortium of ITPI (an Indian consultant enterprise) and the Swiss NGO Swisscon-

tact facilitates the execution of the project. Swisscontact, as representative of the con-

sortium, is mandated by SDC for overall project monitoring and finance administra-

tion. The overall budget for the HIDECOR project (2001-2004) amounts to

CHF 3,993,000.


• Without the HIDECOR project which focused on much different levels of intervention

than ECOFRIG, the impact of the ECOFRIG project intervention would have been incom-

plete. Industry partners gave high importance to the effort in the service sector to enhance

the overall sustainability of the HC technology. The importance of service had not been an-

ticipated at the time ECOFRIG phase 2 was designed, in 1996. A strategic adjustment was

needed and from 1997 onwards the HIDECOR implementation activities started on the ba-

sis of a clause added to the ECOFRIG agreement.

• The flexibility provided by the cooperating governments to gradually develop the

HIDECOR pilot phase as an offspring of the ECOFRIG project was a prerequisite for suc-

cessfully launching the HIDECOR main phase. The JPRC provided important guidance in

the step by step approach applied.

• The HIDECOR project was essential in providing the ground for development of a national

service sector strategy (RACSSS) with a scope much beyond the HIDECOR project reach.

• For the international “ozone community” and the Indian project partners, ECOFRIG and

HIDECOR are perceived as one single project despite its very different approach and di-

vided responsibilities within SDC. This was largely achieved as the Government of Indian

and the Indian industry partners were allowed to be the drivers of this development. SDC,

supported by GTZ, acted rather as facilitator.


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4.8. International Networking

International networking has been a major tool of the ECOFRIG project in order to es-

tablish a level playing field between synthetic and natural fluids and to exchange ex-

periences of the HC technology development and transfer process. Within interna-

tional networking activities two different directions were followed: (i) organisation of,

participation in and contributions to workshops, seminars and international confer-

ences and (ii) contribution to transfer of HC technology and experience exchange be-

tween India and other Article 5 countries.

In addition to the budget as per ECOFRIG phase 2 trilateral agreement (see Table 1 in

executive summary section) a budget of CHF 320'000 was allocated by SDC to support

international networking activities. Additional dedicated budgets were made available

by SDC, SAEFL, UNEP and GTZ for supporting larger workshops and transfer of hy-

drocarbon technology to countries other than India.

(i) Workshops, conferences

A selection of main workshops, conferences, and seminars, their aim, outreach and

outcomes are indicated in Table 5. These are all events where ECOFRIG actors have

either acted as organisers or made a significant contribution towards it.

When/where Organisers O/sponsors S Title/aim outreach/outcome

3 days in June 1996 in Schaffhausen Switzerland

O: Deloitte Touche, FKW and INFRAS

S: World Bank, GTZ, SDC

Workshop on “Assessment of the Prospects for Hy-drocarbon Technology in the Global Domestic Re-frigeration Market”

70 participants from industry, implementing agencies, national gov-ernments, administra-tion, NGOs, research, media, donor countries.

A publication compiling market, barriers and technology studies and country case studies.(World Bank 1996)

October 1996 in Washing-ton USA

S: World Bank, GTZ, SDC

Earth Technology Confer-ence. /Presentation of the World Bank study, own HC ses-sion

Dissemination of the results of the Schaff-hausen workshop to a wide international audi-ance

to be continued


When/where Organisers O/sponsors S Title/aim outreach/outcome

September 1997 in Rueschlikon Switzerland

O: CUTS, SwissCoalition, INFRAS

S: SDC, additional funding from Proklima

Conference on “10 Years Montreal Protocol: The ECOFRIG revolution”/Establish a dialogue on sustainable consumption among an international network of consumer or-ganisations.

Swiss Coalition Work-shop report

September 1997 in Montreal

O : INFRAS, UNEP-IE

S: SDC , SAEFL

Workshop on potentials for HC-based refrigerant replacements/retrofitting.

60 participants, book documenting the work-shop (UNEP 1997)

March 1998 in Delhi

O: IITD, IIR

S: GoI, IIR, UNEP, SDC, GTZ

IIR Conference 250 participants, pro-ceedings (IIR 1998)

May 1999 on Bali, Indone-sia

O: MoE, ITB, Swisscontact

S: SDC, INFRAS, BPPT Indonesia etc.

Seminar on ODS phase-out: Solutions for the re-frigeration sector/Disseminate existing in-formation with focus on the RAC servicing sector to Asian countries.

18 delegates from 10 Asian countries, 18 In-donesian delegates, 32 participants from indus-tries, universities, other organisations. The inter-est of these key stake-holders could be raised.

June 1999 in Geneva, Switzerland

O: INFRASS: EU DG XI/SAEFL

Workshop on HCFC alter-natives, held in the framework of the OEWG.

Proceedings of the workshop

Table 5: Main events in international networking.

(ii) Technology and experience transfer to other countries

The exchange of experience on site within the premises of European industries

manufacturing hydrocarbon based appliances had already been an important factor at

the very beginning of the ECOFRIG project. Already in 1993, the visit of Indian

industry partners to FORON in Germany had a lasting impact onn appraising the

hydrocarbon technology not known to Indian industry up to this date. ECOFRIG

partners have subsequently been involved in technology transfer and experience

exchange activities. The main activities were:

• In 1996/97 the Multilateral Fund approved a Swiss bilateral project in cooperation

with Argentina for provision of technical assistance and training on safe designs of

HC based domestic and commercial refrigeration appliances. Liebherr and TÜV

were contracted as main technology partners to provide technology support to a

number of larger Argentinean firms and for building capacity at the level of the


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national implementing agency.19 In September 1996, Prof. RS Agarwal of IITD

trained small enterprises from the commercial sub-sector in Rosario, Argentina in

hydrocarbon based retrofitting of compressors and appliances.

• Senegal participated in the September 1997 UNEP workshop in Montreal and ex-

pressed an interest in implementing a hydrocarbon based retrofit demonstration

programme banking on relevant experiences from India. When INFRAS was con-

tracted by UNEP for implementation of refrigerant management plans (RMP) in 3

countries from West Africa the retrofit demonstration project was designed in this

context. This project, after long discussion with the secretariat of the Multilateral

Fund, in the 31st session of the Executive Committee, was finally approved as a

Swiss bilateral project. The approval was facilitated by the results of an updated

desk study on hydrocarbon based retrofitting of refrigerators commissioned by

UNEP. Because Prof. R. S. Agarwal of IIT Delhi and M. Janssen acted as co- au-

thors of this UNEP desk study the findings resulting from a similar retrofitting

demonstration project implemented by IIT Delhi within the framework of the

ECOFRIG project and documented in “grey literature” could be made available to

the updated desk study. (UNEP 1999)

• From December 1999 to June 2001: Switzerland (SDC) provided an additional bi-

lateral support in the amount of USD 68'000 to the company Pamir in Tajikistan

and UNDP to upgrade their CFC phase-out proposal submitted to GEF by includ-

ing a dual use HFC134a/R600a charging line. A contract for W.D. Adler, Transfair,

for these services could be provided under ECOFRIG “networking”. Mr Adler had

installed similar systems under the framework of the ECOFRIG project in India.

Under a UNDP/GEF small contract consultancy services were also provided for

the refrigerator manufacturer Snaige in Lithuania for the formulation of a proposal

to convert from HFC134a to R600a under the GEF climate fund. In that project the

GHG emissions which could be abated by a switch from HFC134a to R600a could

be introduced into a GEF project design.

• Since 2000 India is working on its strategy for phasing out ODS from the RAC ser-

vice sector within the Montreal Protocol/Multilateral Fund framework. Such a

strategy is essential due to the significant contribution of the service sector to the

19 Instituto Nacional de Technologia Industrial, Buenos Aires (INTI)


overall CFC consumption of the country. The strategy is being developed in a co-

operative process chaired by the Ozone Cell of MoEF. Switzerland and Germany

provide a bilateral contribution in the amount of USD 80'000 and 240'000 respec-

tively, and will contribute to the implementation of this project with relevant ex-

periences from their national phase-out, their international experiences in RMP

implementation as well as experience gathered during implementation of refrig-

eration service sector projects in India (HIDECOR). Besides Switzerland and Ger-

many also UNDP and UNEP contribute to this national RAC service sector strat-

egy with respect to legal framework and to strengthening the capacity of the

Ozone Cell.

In Annex 1 a compiled list with all ECOFRIG publications and contributions to the-

above-mentioned events and others can be found.

Concluding, the ECOFRIG project’s activities in international networking allowed to

enhance the international exposure of Indian experts and contributed to disseminate at

an international level adaptive research experiences gained under the ECOFRIG pro-

ject. In the absence of contacts which could be established with key industrial stake-

holders at an international level, the decision to opt in favour of hydrocarbon refriger-

ant would not have been taken in time or it would have been taken in favour of

HFC134a following the example of multinationals operating in India.

As a reward for its fruitful efforts, the implementing agency for this project, INFRAS

and Prof. R.S. Agarwal from the associated research institution, IIT Delhi, were se-

lected to receive the 1998 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Stratospheric Ozone

Protection Award. Sukumar Devotta of the other associated research institution, NCL,

received this award already in 1997. These three individuals and organisations are

among the 30 to receive this honour annually in recognition of exemplary efforts to

protect the ozone layer.


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4.9. Institutional Arrangement and Project Management

The ECOFRIG project has been a support and financing scheme which was comple-

mentary to implementation structures of the international environment agreements

such as the Montreal Protocol. During the 1990ies the policies of the Multilateral Fund

to the Montreal Protocol had a strong focus on investment projects. The impact of the

non-investment capacity building activities of ECOFRIG aimed at raising the under-

standing and awareness of actors concerned by the technology change but not directly

reached by Multilateral Fund projects was appraised in actor interviews in late 200120

(Gerster 2001). The findings highlight that the trilateral implementation set up for the

project was essential to the overall achievement:

• A number of industry actors interviewed have drawn attention to the observation

that technologies with a promising potential to sustainable development such as

hydrocarbon blend21 would not have spread to a potential market in India if this

would have been left just to the private sector. This is in particular true for tech-

nologies particularly suited for application in small businesses (service sector,

manufacturing of commercial appliances such as deep freezers, bottle coolers). The

capacity built at the level of research institutions, the manuals prepared to cover

safe servicing and conversion of appliances as well as the continued availability of

the services of INFRAS as “clearing house” had been essential so that technology

information (or refrigerant) was available “just in time” when demand by the local

market was created.

• Another crucial factor of influence with respect to the “level playing field of tech-

nologies” has been time: The HC blend technology was used in East Germany in

1993/94 and then – in domestic refrigeration – was substituted by isobutane

(R600a). Today, it can be seen that the market for the HC blend technology

20 Feedback has so far been received by Atul Bagai (MoEF), Urs Heierli and Veena Joshi (SDC), Ebel Dijkstra (Ecozone), DD Arora (TERI), SA Juvekar (Godrej), Massimo Castiglioni (Cannon), Surinder Batra (CIMI), Alfred Frischknecht, Thomas Ertel (Liebherr), and Klaus Meyersen.

21 The hydrocarbon blends had been emerging in the transformation situation of the East German economy in 1993/94. Charging of refrigerant was done at FORON in those initial days of the HC technology using aerosol cans. Aerosol cans also appear to be a suitable transitional technology for making HC refrigerant available to service enterprises. So a method applied in East Germany in 1993/94 is now copied under HIDECOR for supplying refrigerant to training institutions in the India RAC service sector.


emerges in India in the period 1998-2003 only. The public sector sponsored re-

search and technology transfer project ECOFRIG did “store” and further develop

the know-how in local institutions until the demand for the technology emerged

on the Indian market.

• The institutional aspects supporting flexibility in the decision making mechanisms

merit attention as an important success factor. The Joint Project Review Committee

(JPRC) to the ECOFRIG project was established under the trilateral government

agreement with the power to reallocate activities and budgets. This was, when in-

troduced, a rather unique set up within SDC and GTZ administrative frameworks.

• Feedback received from GTZ insiders22 underscores that the trilateral setting was

crucial to gain the support on the side of the GTZ headquarter for decisions which

had been taken at the JPRC level. The trilateral setting thus helped to strengthen

flexibility and empowerment of the JPRC as the relevant local platform for deci-

sion making. In the ex-post assessment this design is viewed as a significant

achievement for providing the institutional frame to a public private partnership.

Besides the cooperating governments also Indian industries did go an extra mile

by co-operating with competitors within the JPRC framework. The JPRC thus

emerged as a valuable platform for the implementation of a public–private part-

nership. Next to project matters also issues relating to the implementation of the

Montreal Protocol could here be taken up in an informal manner between the

Government of India and the participating industry.

• INFRAS entrusted as the member secretary of the JPRC has effectively acted as

bridge builder between the two cultures: industry and government.23

22 Stephan Sicars and Klaus Meyersen.

23 Observation R.S. Iyer, former R&D manager VOLTAS


INFRAS

5. Synthesis

5.1. Success Factors

The strategy of the ECOFRIG phase 2 has evolved within a policy environment charac-

terised by three external factors:

• The Multilateral Framework consisting of the policies of the Multilateral Fund

to the Montreal Protocol and the Kyoto Protocol,

• The market shares of non-CFC technologies in the international market,

• The market dynamics of the Indian refrigerator market.

The project strategy has evolved in relation to these external factors (Figure 10).

Figure 10: Illustrative diagram for interlinkage between project strategy, fields of activity, external factors and success factors in the ECOFRIG project.


The way in which the project strategy could respond to these factors or influence de-

velopments has been crucial for success and failure. Figure 10 gives some non-

comprehensive illustration of how success factors link external factors and project

strategies with the areas of intervention in the project.

Reviewing the project activities and instruments applied, ten main success factors were

identified which significantly shaped the collaboration culture and supported project

implementation and therefore paved ground for the achievements of this project:

• The trilateral government arrangement between India, Switzerland and Germany,

• A powerful institutional steering set-up,

• No hidden agenda of the participating governments,

• Interlinking different levels of action vertically,

• Motivated key stakeholders from industry,

• Flexibility in implementation,

• Adequate funds for technology transfer,

• International network involving industries from industrialised countries,

• Personal commitment, skills and vision of research partners,

• The honest broker role played by INFRAS.

These success factors were identified based on interviews with key actors (Gerster

2001). Many of them are interdependent or have close inter-links. So do the govern-

ment and policy level factors form the basis for the other success factors identified at

the implementation level. Each of these factors is seen as an essential piece in the puz-

zle. Absence of these factors would have led to a significantly different web of struc-

tures, interactions and working culture than observed for ECOFRIG phase 2.

In the following a short reasoning for the relevance of each of the ten success factors is

given. The reader might get a feel of the authors trying to position ECOFRIG as an

“ideal” project because the following paragraphs will mainly focus on “good energies

and constellations” as very important meta-levels of the project. It is the subsequent


INFRAS

chapter 5.2 which will look closer at the achievements on the operational level and also

will discuss the most important problems in implementation.

1. Trilateral government arrangement

The trilateral arrangement has shaped the ECOFRIG project significantly. A purely

Swiss bilateral project would not have had access to similar financial resources. The

trilateral setting has also permitted to draw from a larger pool of expertise and human

resources. In addition, the significant political weight of Germany in the Montreal Pro-

tocol bodies enabled effective linkage of the ECOFRIG field activities with the policy

level. On the other hand, a German bilateral project would not have enjoyed a similar

degree of flexibility in implementation. Constrained flexibility and autonomy at the

operational level would most likely have turned out as a major barrier for project im-

plementation. It is also assumed that the low technology profile of Switzerland in the

refrigeration sector (no direct involvement of Swiss refrigerator manufacturers) has

added to the trust of the Indian government in the project24. It can be said that it was

the combination of the individual strengths of the three participating governments

which provided the ground for successful implementation of the ECOFRIG project.

2. Powerful institutional steering set-up

A Joint Project Review Committee (JPRC) was established as the steering body of

ECOFRIG, with the three governments and INFRAS as members and the industry part-

ners as regular invitees. Other invitees such as the research partners have been partici-

pating on a regular basis, other relevant institutions have been called for the meetings

as and when felt necessary. The JPRC was entrusted with significant decision making

power including budget re-allocation. As reorientation was an ongoing process, all

relevant strategic decisions could be taken at the JPRC level with strong local

participation. The headquarters of the donor organisations had indirectly been in-

volved in this process by providing guidance. It is quite remarkable that donor gov-

ernments accepted a steering body chaired by the host government which was also

entrusted with executive functions. In fact, also the industries had a very influential

position in the JPRC. In no case would the JPRC members have overruled a consoli-

24 At the very initial stages of the project the Indian Secretary petroleum and the additional Secretary environment and forests visited Switzerland and Germany. It is informally known that this was a fac-tor of influence to accept an invitation at such a high level at such an early stage of the project. The high-level representation of the government of India was essential for the Indian industry (Voltas) to make the first move and commit to build a pilot plant.


dated opinion of the Indian industry partners. The involvement of multiple industry

partners – which were direct competitors in the market – in such delicate matters as

budget reallocation was a challenge in itself. The transparency created was one of the

keys to success. Due to the very high level of respect towards each other, a high stand-

ing communication culture and basic common interests, the industries managed to

move around potential internal conflicts in these processes. The industry partners were

able to use the JPRC also for informal consultations with the government.

3. No hidden agenda of the participating governments

The fact that the donor governments accepted an “empowered” project steering set-up

with very strong participation of the Indian government and the local industries, is

supporting evidence for the observation that donors had no hidden agenda to follow.

Providing a levelled playing field for hydrocarbon refrigerants was a declared agenda.

There was no pressure on the project to act in the interest of German or Swiss indus-

tries in the refrigeration sector. The German and Swiss industries were only involved

in the technology transfer process where it provided the most efficient and effective

solution. The Indian Government widely supported the interests of the Indian indus-

tries and acted accordingly as long as this was compatible with the project objectives.

The absence of a hidden agenda by the governments enabled a trustful co-operation

spirit between all stakeholders in this public/private partnership project. This in return

made it possible that the ECOFRIG project was used as a communication platform to

the Indian government and industries which extended far beyond the actual project

scope and which was relevant for developing other national activities in the framework

of the Montreal Protocol.

4. Interlinking different levels of action vertically

From the beginning, the ECOFRIG project developed activities on multiple levels, from

macro to micro level. The technology transfer at the project level developed in co-

operation with the industry partners was designed to respond to interaction at the pol-

icy level of the Montreal Protocol bodies. Interventions at the micro level in skill devel-

opment for the small enterprises in the servicing sector emerged out of need identified

at the policy as well as the product chain level “CFC-free refrigerator”. This compre-

hensive approach with vertical interlinkage among the activities turned out to make

interventions effective with respect to establishing a level playing field for the hydro-

carbon technology and meeting particular needs of a developing country like India.

Besides, it allowed to highlight relevant dimensions of the technology change which


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turned out to be crucial in the assessment of the higher management of the industry

partners. The valorisation and dissemination of information generated by the project

and its partners at the international level has also been enhanced.

5. Motivated key stakeholders from industry

The participating industries were the major driving force for the project. The dedica-

tion of the industry partners was not only based on own economic interests but also on

a common vision and personal commitment of the individuals representing the indus-

tries. Key industry representatives shared the assessment by the research institutions

that the hydrocarbon technology would yield long term advantages for the country.

This vision going beyond the courtyard of business interests made the industry par-

ticipate in the project in a proactive manner.

6. Flexibility in implementation

During its lifetime, the ECOFRIG project developed very dynamically. The dynamics

resulted from Indian and from international market developments. New scenarios re-

sulting from take overs or mergers called for strategic assessments in six monthly in-

tervals. Market liberalisation since 1992 and the entering of multinational companies in

the Indian refrigerator market has put significant pressure on the Indian owned com-

panies to shorten management response time. Almost none of the stones remained in

place as it was in 1992 (see also section 3.1). Technology co-operation opportunities

with international partners had usually to be decided within one or two months. The

response time for amendment of plans is usually significantly higher in classical bilat-

eral development projects. In the private sector’s working environment it was highly

important that the project work plan and fund allocation could be adjusted in a flexible

manner to opportunities and emerging needs. Based on requests from the industry

partners, INFRAS in its function as project manager, was able to submit proposals for

adjustment in the plan of operation and respective fund allocation for decision in the

JPRC upon short notice. On several occasions such decisions were taken by interses-

sional consultations among the co-operating governments.

7. Adequate funds for technology transfer

The technology transfer process under ECOFRIG has significantly benefited from ade-

quate levels of funding. The provision of funding intensive pilot charging stations was

essential to demonstrate the feasibility at pilot production level and to trigger the man-

agement decisions at Godrej and Rockwell in the direction of hydrocarbon refrigerants.

The firms participating in the ECOFRIG project converted the foaming lines in 1999


while the other market players still have not done so in 2001. The early learning experi-

ences made with pilot installations and the international and local research support

system built up in parallel contributed to a sound basis for decisions of the partner in-

dustries at the level of higher management in favour of the hydrocarbon technology.

This impact would not have been achieved by research support, conferences and fac-

tory visits only.

8. International network involving industries from industrialised countries

Experienced and reputable know-how providers ready to share their experience on a

contract basis have been a key factor for successful technology transfer. Liebherr Haus-

geräte GmbH has a wide experience with both the technologies at all levels of indus-

trial large scale production. The interaction facilitated through the ECOFRIG project

provided Godrej with enough insight to start indigenous development of a product

range on hydrocarbon basis. Suppliers of equipment such as Cannon or Transfair had

to play an important role in training key staff from the industry side. Besides the direct

industry contacts the technology decision was also supported by the services of local

research institutes. In that respect, international networking supported by the

ECOFRIG project was fundamental.

9. Personal commitment, skills and vision of research partners

The research partners at the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi and the Na-

tional Chemical Laboratory in Pune played a very prominent role in the project. The

contribution of the research partners to the ECOFRIG project went far beyond the sci-

entific work in the field of hydrocarbon and other non-CFC refrigerants. The personal

commitment of the respective heads of the lab to find optimum solutions for the phase-

out of ozone depleting substances in India, provided an essential support for the

ECOFRIG project. The international networking and lobbying work for the interests of

developing countries which they performed in bodies of the Montreal Protocol such as

the Technical and Economical Assessment Panel (TEAP) or the UNEP Technical Op-

tions Committee refrigeration greatly helped to spread the information generated un-

der the ECOFRIG project. On the other hand it also provided the Indian industries

with access to scientific information which otherwise could not have been obtained so

easily. The ECOFRIG project was lucky to have research partners who through their

open minded personalities were able to communicate with and be accepted by the in-

dustry community. This also facilitated adoption of internationally generated know-

how to Indian field conditions which as such was essential for the ECOFRIG project.


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10. Honest broker role played by INFRAS

The strength of the Indian partners and the flexibility provided by the participating

governments allowed INFRAS to focus on maintaining a need driven broker role for

fuelling the process of know-how and technology transfer. For INFRAS, developing

the project in a participative manner and adopting an “Indian” perspective in assessing

the problems and planning the activities had always been a very high priority. This

mind setting enabled partnership and trust with the stakeholders from governments

and industries involved providing strong support to the project and making many

things possible. With a more technocratic approach some of the problems which arose

during project implementation might have grown to non-resolvable issues that could

have affected the project in a negative way.

5.2. The Challenges of Implementation

We focus the following analysis of challenges faced during implementation of the

technology transfer processes under the ECOFRIG project phase 2 on four main fields:

1. Decision making processes for the choice of technologies depending upon avail-

able information.

2. The process of technology transfer focussing on processes related to know-how,

hardware equipment and the refrigerant.

3. The efforts undertaken for capacity building, training and education in manufac-

turing, design of appliances and servicing.

4. The wide range of information dissemination, marketing, promotion and inter-

national networking for creating a sound knowledge basis for establishing the

hydrocarbon refrigeration technology in India.

These four fields reflect a wider understanding of the technology transfer process:

• Technology transfer is a highly complex process, not simply a supply of hardware.

Mastering a new non-ODS technology is different for an enterprise, it is not shop-

ping in a technology supermarket.

• Key elements of this process are the sharing of knowledge and adapting technol-

ogy to cope with specific local conditions.


• Technology transfer is basically a business to business process but often needs fa-

vourable framework conditions which enterprises cannot achieve alone.

5.2.1. Taking Informed Decisions

In order to meet the specific objective of phasing out CFCs, industries in the RAC sec-

tor can avail themselves of a range of technologies and skills. While admittedly they

may have certain preferences, not all technologies are equally suited to the problem to

be addressed or to the contexts in which industries might wish to apply them. It is

therefore useful to consider the conditions in which the use of the HC technology

might be more advantageous than the use of the HFC technology. Such an assessment

depends upon the type of appliances to be converted, the prevailing legal and regula-

tory context, market conditions and prevailing economic conditions for technology

transfer at an industrial scale. The ECOFRIG project supported the Indian industry in

taking informed decisions on the choice of technology with the following instruments:

• Enabling face-to-face communication and on-site visits of the Indian industry in

European companies and other countries (China) where technology is being ap-

plied.

• Providing technical “on-site” consultancy for the project partners through Euro-

pean specialists and industry representatives.

• Organising local and international workshops, seminars, technical training and

demonstration of equipment.

• Enabling first hand experience through pilot installations at factory level.

• Providing through the JPRC a platform for the industry partners for developing

the ECOFRIG project in a demand driven manner from an industry perspective.

• Act as an institutional memory to overcome time lags between the implementation

of hydrocarbon blend technology in industrialised and developing country mar-

kets.

Based on feedback received from the project partners, the level of project achievement

related to taking informed decision viz. hydrocarbon fluids or chemical alternatives is

rated rather high. The hydrocarbon blend technologies emerging from the transforma-


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tion situation of the East German economy in 1993/94, offer a promising potential to

sustainable development which would not have taken off in the market in India if this

would have been left just to the private sector. This in particular applies to the technol-

ogy transfer for applications in small businesses (service sector, manufacturing of

commercial appliances such as deep freezers, bottle coolers).

The ECOFRIG project also had a unique “platform character”, where government and

industry co-operated in a voluntary manner. This was a key factor for taking informed

decisions by the industry, and it is seen as a truly relevant experience for the “Rio+10

process”.

Furthermore, it can be observed that the platform of the ECOFRIG project helped to

leverage industry’s own funds for investment in CFC-free technologies in the days

when the ozone regulation with a distinct phase-out date was not in force yet. The

ECOFRIG domestic appliance industry partners were the first in India to commission

the pentane foam conversion projects under the World Bank/Multilateral Fund and

are the only ones who had the foam conversion completed by early 2001 in plants eli-

gible for multilateral funding.

Along with this achievement, significant challenges still remain: Due to availability

problems of hydrocarbon refrigerant, an initial “pro hydrocarbon” decision by Hindu-

stan Lever Ltd. (large user of commercial equipment) taken based on the good per-

formance of 200 deep freezing units was suspended. VIDEOCON Appliances Ltd in

1999 was close to enter into a hydrocarbon technology collaboration agreement with

KELON China but subsequently delayed model conversion and manufacturing of a

pilot series of HC refrigerators. By the year 2000, the market share of Korean enter-

prises25 had significantly increased and with this also the technology influence of Ko-

rean market players in favour of HFC134a. When the JPRC platform terminates in 2002,

the industry on its own will most likely not continue this type of inter-company co-

operation. Outside Godrej, the hydrocarbon technology has also not yet penetrated the

market on a larger scale by 2001. This however is not perceived as a failure to prepare

the ground for informed decisions, but rather it is seen as the result of entrepreneurial

decisions of the companies in the prevailing complex market environment. One obser-

vation is that the Indian market players are operating in a rather conservative manner

25 VIDEOCON has now close cooperation ties with the Korean manufacturer Samsung.


in the sense that the willingness to adopt a “first mover” strategy has been considered

to bear significant entrepreneurial risks. Consumers in urban areas however have in-

creasingly opted for the main stream international products and brands. From a

1994/95 perspective the rigor in which globalisation would reach the Indian refrigera-

tor market by the turn of the century has clearly been underestimated by the project

but also by key Indian industry players.

5.2.2. Technology Transfer

In the transfer of technology to large and small scale appliance manufacturers four

main challenges were faced:

• Finding suitable technology partners for Indian enterprises,

• Identifying suitable, cost effective equipment for pilot production,

• Adapting technologies to the Indian situation,

• Establishing a reliable supply of refrigerant.

The challenges experienced in selecting and contracting international technology part-

ners knowledgeable and experienced with hydrocarbon technologies were significantly

different for foam and refrigerant. As the know-how on the foam side stayed with

foaming machine and raw material suppliers, it could be “purchased” through con-

tracts for erecting pilot production installations. Suppliers for equipment and raw ma-

terials could rather easily be selected and contracted as the commercial incentives

worked. This also applied to hydrocarbon refrigerant as far as pilot production equip-

ment was concerned. The main barrier on the refrigerant side however was contracting

know-how for adaptation of appliance design and organising the service support set-

up. This know-how is not available with suppliers of components, equipment or re-

frigerant. It is the core know-how of companies manufacturing refrigeration appli-

ances. As shown in section 4.2 for the Godrej no-frost refrigerator case, this know-how

is not readily available on the market but is usually only shared in some kind of joint-

venture agreements between companies. It was a significant asset for the project that


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Liebherr26 was prepared to share design related know-how until 1997 on a consulting

mandate basis. By 1998, the Liebherr corporate policy was revised and know-how shar-

ing on a consultancy contract basis was no longer possible.27 The know-how provided

by independent consultants such as Transfair, Germany had less impact on industry

partners as a consultant’s know-how is not rated as high as the one of an industry en-

gineer who has access to R&D know-how of large scale manufacturer and full insight

in all aspects of industrial production.

In addition, the co-operation with industry scale technology providers or international

consultants was only applicable for the large scale appliance and compressor manufac-

turers which manufacture at or close to world standards. The small scale manufactur-

ers of commercial appliances – where a major potential for the hydrocarbon refriger-

ants is seen –would yet need more appropriate solutions, more adapted to specific cir-

cumstances and investment capabilities of small enterprises. This is where the local

research support through IIT Delhi and NCL Pune gained significant importance for

the project. Though some assistance in developing training manuals on manufacturing

hydrocarbon based commercial appliances was contracted to international experts,

such as Cool Concerns UK, the major share of the work was executed by the Indian

research institutions. Among the research institutes particularly IIT Delhi established

close working relationships with smaller scale companies. Compressor manufacturers

such as Kirloskar Copeland played also an active role in disseminating non-CFC based

know-how to smaller scale enterprises.

The most critical issue to date with regard to successful technology transfer is to ensure

reliable hydrocarbon refrigerant supply in India. Section 4.3 in details describes the

difficulties encountered with HC refrigerant supply since the project start. As of 2001,

the supply is still not sustainably assured, as no large commercial supplier has yet be-

come active in the market. The potential refrigerant suppliers have shown inadequate

interest to take up promotion and selling of hydrocarbon products as long as no sig-

nificant market volume emerged. Such an involvement will require additional invest-

ments for specialised cylinders and additional stock keeping. From project side nego-

26 Liebherr Industrie Anlagen is located in the Swiss headquarter in Bulle, the refrigerator manufactur-ing plant is situated in Ochsenhausen, South Germany. Liebherr also cooperated under a GTZ man-date in the Germany-China HC technology project.

27 An additional barrier emerged with the revised SDC contracting rules for consultants, which from 1998 onwards would not have permitted to agree on a know-how fee on top of usual consultancy rates.


tiations are ongoing already with the third potential supplier company. With the first

two companies (SHV, BOC) business prospects looked initially promising but the ac-

tivities got stuck after a joint import of the first batch of refrigerant. In the presence of

stronger market signals in favour of hydrocarbon refrigerants, one could expect the

market to develop solutions. Options were discussed to develop such a market de-

mand “bottom-up” –e.g. like in Indonesia – through promotion of retrofit and use of

hydrocarbon refrigerants in the service sector, incl. mobile Air Conditioning28.

5.2.3. Capacity Building and Training

Successful build up of local capacity for handling the hydrocarbon technology in all its

various aspects is crucial for the sustainability of the project. This capacity building

involved key activities related to “choose”, “adapt”, “integrate and replicate”. Efforts

for building capacity were needed at the level of appliance and compressor manufac-

turers, spare part suppliers and the national research institutions. The feedback re-

ceived from project partners and other market players indicates that the project has

come far on this task. Today, the research partners in the ECOFRIG project have a

closer interaction with the industries on the issue of non-ODS refrigerants than before

the project started. This may also be attributed to the increased priority of the issue for

the industry while moving towards the phase-out date. Feedback obtained from

ECOFRIG partners indicates that this is also linked to the increased know-how and

upgraded facilities through the involvement in the ECOFRIG project.

Training activities have been challenging the project throughout its lifetime. Training

has taken place on different levels:

• At the industry level for training of R&D personnel and production management,

• At the level of training trainers to expand the training activities,

• At the service enterprise level.

28 In Indonesia this strategy was favoured by the fall of the Rupiah during the 1997 Asia crisis and the fact that Indonesia had to import CFCs. The Indonesian experience also reveals that such a strategy would trigger developments and processes which are self propelling and where the adherence to safety standards would be beyond control of the project or the industries involved. As Godrej has been in the process of piloting the market any safety related negative reports or incidences from the informal sector would threaten their investment in the technology and stop successful market intro-duction. Therefore the project was most reluctant to proceed on this grass-root approach for develop-ing the market.


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The training activities at the industry level through mandates to international experts

and consultants has already been covered under the previous sections. It was success-

fully completed for the industry partners of the project. An indication is the develop-

ment of the Godrej no-frost appliances which is based on internal development work.

Training of trainers for interaction with small manufacturing and servicing enterprises

was triggered by the ECOFRIG project and was then further developed under the

HIDECOR pilot phase. Drawing on resources of ECOFRIG research and industry part-

ners, first training sessions for manufacturers of commercial appliances and service

technicians were implemented under the HIDECOR pilot phase. Most of the larger

manufacturers of commercial appliances attended one or more training session organ-

ised by the project. From the very large number of service enterprises operating in the

Indian market only a very tiny fraction was reached with respect to training. Coverage

however was never a primary objective for the ECOFRIG or HIDECOR pilot phase.

Training activities have now been taken up and shall be significantly strengthened un-

der the HIDECOR main phase project.

For responding to the training needs of enterprises not closely associated with the pro-

ject, ECOFRIG has developed a set of training manuals which covered manufacturing

and servicing of hydrocarbon based appliances. Under the HIDECOR pilot phase a

version for servicing of R134a appliances was added. The ECOFRIG manuals have

been distributed in more than 1'400 copies in India and internationally. Translated lan-

guage versions exist for Hindi, Sinhala, Spanish and French. Adaptations for local

markets were made by third parties for Australia and the Netherlands.

During the HIDECOR pilot phase it was recognised that a major challenging service

sector training will be to address participants from small scale enterprises in their re-

spective languages. Standardising training materials and translation into local lan-

guages is addressed in the HIDECOR main phase.

Sustainability of training efforts and capacity building are challenged by a number of

factors:

• A high mobility of key trained staff: qualified staff is looking out for better paid

jobs. So small scale enterprises and research institutions are engaged in a continu-

ous process of retraining staff;


• Opportunities for trained personnel to practice trained skills: The pace in market

introduction of non-CFC appliances and the supply gap with hydrocarbon refrig-

erant lead to a situation where many of the trained engineers and technicians have

not had a chance to apply in daily business for 12 months or more what they had

been trained for;

• Uncertainty caused by the market dynamics within a span of two to three years

down the road: Has a critical mass of capacity been created solidly enough to sus-

tain? Or are concerns justified that many of the small scale manufacturing enter-

prises will face difficulties to sustain in a liberalised market? Will research be

gradually concentrated in the private sector as public research institutes may face

difficulties with upgrading their facilities into state of the art laboratories?

5.2.4. Marketing, Promotion, Information Dissemination and International Networking

What are the driving forces for change? Consumers, NGOs, local or multinational in-

dustries, multilateral organisations such as the Montreal Protocol and the implement-

ing agencies? All these institutions can play a crucial role in the process of creating a

local market for new technologies.

Promotion of environmental awareness at end user level was only indirectly dealt with

by the ECOFRIG project. Efforts were focussed on the target groups reached by train-

ing efforts described in the previous section. The project network, through facilitating

information exchange with the GTZ CFC phase out project in China and similar efforts

undertaken by Swisscontact in Indonesia/Sri Lanka, contributed to the creation of en-

vironmental awareness on a regional as well as national scale. Cooperation links were

established with international (Greenpeace) and national NGOs (CUTs, see below).

Demand from the end user side for environmentally sound technologies were to be

expected to be positively influenced by dissemination efforts undertaken through the

media. Demand on the basis of purely environmental benefits would remain low as

long as environmental advantages would not be coupled to additional “economic”

benefits such as lower costs, better reliability, higher service friendliness, etc.

With this perspective in mind a loose collaboration was started with the Indian con-

sumer trust organisation CUTS. CUTS had organised a number of awareness work-

shops and has also covered the ECOFRIG technology in a number of their newsletter


INFRAS

and fact sheet. The impact was however limited as the campaign preceded market con-

version: As the hydrocarbon product was not available yet in the dealer’s showroom,

no significant market pressure could be built up.

With regard to commercial appliances, the ECOFRIG project kept in close touch with

the “Green Olympics campaign” of Greenpeace and has involved representatives of

MNCs such as Coke, Pepsi , Unilever and of UNICEF in as many of the project activi-

ties as possible, mainly through invitations to conferences and workshops but also

through direct contacts. An early result of this was the interest of Unilever for the hy-

drocarbon technology. Unilever however stopped further market development due to

restrictions in availability of HC refrigerant, as explained earlier.

Information dissemination was mainly targeted through organisation or sponsorship

for a number of national and international conferences and workshops. Much of this

had a close link to international networking. An overview of the international activities

is provided by Table 5, section 4.8. The challenge of networking within the Multilateral

framework was addressed through close cooperation with the Swiss Environment Pro-

tection Agency and GTZ29 on the German side. On such policy matters a close informa-

tion exchange took place at the JPRC level. Prof. Agarwal (IIT Delhi) and Sukumar De-

votta (NCL) were closely involved at project implementation level, as well as invitees

to the JPRC while they in parallel participated in a number of relevant international

fora. International conferences such as the Earth Technology Forum in Washington, the

conferences on natural refrigerants in cooperation with the IIR and the annual confer-

ence in Purdue provided excellent opportunities to present research papers on the In-

dian experience at relevant international fora. These networking activities played an

essential role in the diffusion of know how and local experiences gained across coun-

tries and within the country.

29 Stephan Sicars is a member of the German delegation at the Executive Committee meetings


5.3. Conclusions

5.3.1. Key results of an external assessment

The conclusions presented below were drawn from an independent investigation by

Richard Gerster and based on interviews with selected programme partners in India,

Germany and Switzerland (Gerster 2001). They are linked with the analysis on success

factors presented in the preceding chapter 5.1.

1. ECOFRIG opened up an environmental-friendly option of CFC-free technology in

India and achieved a level playing field for HCs vs. HFCs in view of informed de-

cisions by the private industry for implementing the Montreal Protocol. On the

side of the participating industries the project contributed to avoid a second con-

version to the technology which is likely to remain the international benchmark for

good practice for at least a decade

2. In the absence of driving commercial interest – in the Montreal Protocol context

e.g. in refrigerant sales – the diffusion of technology across borders, however envi-

ronmentally friendly it may be, does not happen on its own. Opening up new

markets and providing access to technology information was achieved in a coop-

erative partnership involving Indian Industry, governments and research partners.

3. The technological intervention ECOFRIG strengthened the Indian capacity for re-

search and industrial development which is a prerequisite to prevent an increased

dependence and weakening of the economy.

4. Hydrocarbon refrigerants were accepted by Indian appliance manufacturers as a

CFC replacement option allowing to avoid double conversion. The experience

gained demonstrates the scope for a strategy of further disseminating the acquired

skills to the small scale refrigeration manufacturing and servicing sector.

5. The outreach of ECOFRIG is greatly enhanced by the current involvement of the

national team as well as the HIDECOR project in the process of contributing to the

National Strategy for the phase-out of CFCs in the RAC Service Sector.

6. The introduction and dissemination of the hydrocarbon technology under

ECOFRIG is a potentially significant asset to the national RAC service sector

strategy aiming at full compliance of India with the CFC phase out schedules un-

der the Montreal Protocol. As the life span of the refrigeration equipment is gener-


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ally longer in Article 5 countries than it is in the developed world, technologies

contributing to retain existing equipment in use for a longer time period are rele-

vant for sustainable development. Secondly, the ratio between labour cost in ser-

vice and maintenance and the investment cost of new equipment differs signifi-

cantly between Southern and Northern markets. As a consequence, retrofitting

methodologies have not been developed in the developed countries in a way that

would be useful for Article 5 countries. Hydrocarbon-based blends for drop-in re-

conversion and related parts ensuring electrical safety have only recently reached

the Indian market. The suitability of hydrocarbon blends for low cost retrofit is

considered a significant development additionality of this technology.

7. Considering this, ECOFRIG played a significant role in the global context of the

Montreal Protocol: (1) as a trilateral exercise it complemented the Multilateral

Fund in a demand oriented manner; (2) it contributed to Indian compliance to the

Montreal Protocol; (3) it strengthened the recognition of the hydrocarbon technol-

ogy option.

8. Important key factors of success were (1) the creation of a process leading to own-

ership of the HC-technology with the Indian partners, (2) contributing to the com-

mercial competitiveness of hydrocarbon refrigerants, (3) the commitment of all

partners at the institutional and human level

The ECOFRIG cooperation has created a wealth of experience which should be used in

a wider context; (1) in other countries beyond India; (2) looking at the implementation

of Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs) in a development perspective and

vice versa.

5.3.2. The technology transfer processes under Multilateral Environment Agreements

Vision and relevance for climate change

In the international debate on technology transfer under the Multilateral Environment

Agreements we observe gaps in vision and expectations between the stakeholders. Re-

cent analysis by Hansen and Sato (2001) underscores the significant impact of the CFC

emissions on climate forcing. The phase out of CFCs under the Montreal Protocol has

significantly contributed to slow down the growth rates of the aggregate global green-


house gas forcing since the early 1990ies. The increased use of HFCs as substitutes to

CFCs in close link with the high economic growth rates, as they do prevail in a number

of Asian countries, load the atmosphere additionally with this group of powerful

greenhouse gases. Taking into consideration their Global Warming Potential, the use of

HFC could be abated at comparatively lower cost as and when compared to CO2

abatement. This environment additionality of the hydrocarbon technology was ac-

knowledged by the Global Environment Facility in its focal programme ozone in East-

ern Europe and Central Asia. It has not been acknowledged yet by the Multilateral

Fund. The ECOFRIG experience suggests to adopt a more integrated view across the

different Multilateral Environment Agreements.

This perspective shall be linked to the UNFCCC national processes in the North and

South. Questions such as “how are societies perceiving the challenges linked to global

atmosphere” or “how are companies taking decisions” do matter. While the Montreal

Protocol has been fairly successful in getting a national process in place, this challenge

is yet ahead for governments in the North and South with regard to climate change.

The related lessons which can be drawn from the ECOFRIG project for technology

transfer processes are:

• Public-private partnerships are needed at different levels to ensure diffusion of

environmentally sound technologies across and within countries.

• The tasks to be addressed by such partnerships are: learn to understand, test,

demonstrate, adapt, utilise and replicate.

• Much broader efforts are needed to build capacities in a coordinated manner in

public and private institutions: get the important players on board, choose

technology and adapt it to local conditions, build local skills, integrate tech-

nologies into a national system.

• Technology transfer in the context of atmospheric issues (ozone, climate) is

unique for the following reasons:

- Emission control is covered by a legally binding regime,

- Governments have to play a role in case of market failures,

- The multi stakeholder processes make it often necessary to also involve

governments at the local level.


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• The technology transfer process does not stop at the manufacturing lines of

large scale manufacturing enterprises. The process is only completed when the

diffusion of new skills has also reached the small scale enterprises involved in

handling the technology, e.g. maintenance and service of appliances in RAC

sector.

Bilateral vs. Multilateral Cooperation

The ECOFRIG project was implemented as a trilateral project with funding from Swit-

zerland and Germany in addition to their contributions to the Multilateral Fund of the

Montreal Protocol. In the ECOFRIG example ODA had to lay the ground for a network

which significantly supported implementation of the Montreal Protocol in India and

achieved a remarkable international outreach. In addition to funding the political com-

mitment was a key and had to be delivered by all three governments to make the

cooperation a success. Bilateral donors can play an important role in situations where

environmentally sound technologies have emerged on their home markets and where

specific know-how is short in supply at the global level. In such situations the multilat-

eral system is often not flexible enough to respond to such needs. In case of the tech-

nology choice between hydrocarbons and HFCs, issues of cost effectiveness – related in

particular to upfront safety cost against the environmental additionality of hydrocar-

bons – caused a controversial debate among a number of important stakeholders of the

multilateral framework. In that situation the development additionality of the more

service friendly hydrocarbon technology went for a long time unacknowledged.

After the approval of a number of hydrocarbon technology based projects, in particular

with Chinese refrigerator manufacturers, the multilateral framework became more

receptive for the advantages of this technology. UNEP30, along with the other imple-

menting agencies, contributed significantly to creating a more levelled playing field

and helped in the diffusion of relevant technology information. Bilateral donors could

not have achieved this task alone.

30 In particular the technical option committee refrigeration, where India was well represented.


5.3.3. Unresolved Issues, Future Challenges

The main reasons for unfinished business are (1) the growing influence of MNCs as

suppliers as well as customers. Corporate policies of MNCs often favour the technol-

ogy of the industrialised countries, thus neither stimulating local R&D nor paving the

way for an objective examination of different technology options; (2) the environmental

relevance of the service sector and its implications for poverty reduction, being tackled

in the HIDECOR framework. (3) Further, the supply of hydrocarbon refrigerant which

is yet to be firmly established as a sustainable business process. The barriers faced re-

garding hydrocarbon refrigerant supply reflect the yet comparatively low demand in

the Indian market at the end of 2001. Unlike substitutes manufactured by the chemical

industry such as HFCs, production and sale of hydrocarbon refrigerants do not repre-

sent an attractive business for the manufacturer –the petroleum industry in case of HC

refrigerants. The quantities are just too small.

The most significant challenge ahead however results from the target of complete

phase out of CFCs from the RAC service sector by 2010, considering that up to 2002

significant numbers of CFC based appliances will still enter the market. For domestic

and small scale commercial refrigeration appliances, hydrocarbon based low cost retro-

fit technologies developed under the ECOFRIG project in cooperation with IIT Delhi

(IIT Delhi 1998) could play a significant role in this “tail end” process. A retrofit busi-

ness is likely to emerge in India as and when the prices of CFCs have exceeded those of

non-CFC refrigerants, in particular hydrocarbons. For developing and disseminating

the related skills and safe practices among small scale enterprises, still a significant

amount of demonstration, training and outreach will be needed. Such activities have so

far been inadequately financed by the Multilateral Fund. They are however essential to

phase-out the CFC consumption from existing equipment. Once in place, they have a

significant potential to curb smuggling of CFC refrigerants.


INFRAS

ReferencesMoEF 2000 Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation) Rules, 2000; Ministry of

Environment and Forests, India, July 2000

Economic Times 2001 The heat is on in white goods segment; Nupur Gulati; Economic Times of India, June 23, 2001

CII 1997 Report on RAC sector, Study for ODS Phase Out in India; Confed-eration of Indian Industry in collaboration with S.B. Billimoria & Co. and IIT Delhi, 1997

CIMI 2001 Report on Field Survey with Small & Micro Enterprises engaged in Servicing of RAC Appliances; Surinder Batra, Center for Interac-tive Management India; Delhi, December 2001

Gargh 1997 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry in India; Preety Garghfor Ozone Cell MoEF India; New Delhi, Nov 1999

Gerster 2001 Ecofrig Makes a Difference. Findings, conclusions & proposals of an independent investigation based on interviews with selected pro-gramme partners in India, Germany and Switzerland; Richard Ger-ster; Zürich, November 2001

Hansen, J.E., Sato, M. 2001: Trends of measured climate forcing agents, PNAS vol. 28, no. 26, December 18, 2001, www.pnas.org/CGI/doi

IEA 2001 Technology without Borders. Case Studies of Successful Technology Transfer, OECD/IEA 2001, Paris

IIR 1998 Emerging Trends in Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning, IIR Confer-ence March 18-20, 1998, New Delhi; Refrigeration Science and Technology Proceedings; edited by R.S. Agarwal, P.L. Dhar, Sanjeev Jain; New Delhi

IIT Delhi 1998 Retrofitting of Domestic and Small Capacity Commercial Refrigera-tion Appliances Using Hydrocarbon Blends, Final Report A-12, R.S. Agarwal; New Delhi

IPCC 2001 Methodological and technological issues in Technology Transfer, IPCC special report of Working Group III.

UNEP 1997 Potential of Hydrocarbon-based Refrigerant Replacements in Existing Domestic and Small Commercial Appliances; Documentation on Workshop held in Montreal, September 8, 1997

UNEP 1999 Study on the Potential for Hydrocarbon Replacements in Existing Domestic and Small Commercial Refrigeration Appliances, Synthesis Report; published by UNEP DTIE Ozone Action Programme, Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Pro-tocol; 1999

World Bank 1996 Assessment of the Prospects for Hydrocarbon Technology in the Global Domestic Refrigeration Market; The World Bank; Washing-ton D.C., October 1996

Annex

A n n e x 7 5

INFRAS

Annex 1: Glossary and list of abbreviations

Article 2 countries Industrialized countries, listed in Article 2 of the Montreal Protocol

Article 5 countries Developing countries, listed in Article 5 of the Montreal Protocol

CARE 30 Brand name of HC blend from CALOR Gas, UK

CFC Chlorofluorocarbon

DGET Directorate General on Education and Training of the Government of India

GEF Global Environment Facility of the World Bank

GHG Greenhouse gas

GoI Government of India

GTZ Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit

HC Hydrocarbon

HCFC Hydrochlorofluorocarbon

HFC Hydrofluorocarbon

IIR International Institute of Refrigeration

IITD Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

IPCC International Panel on Climate Change

LPG Stenched cooking fuel (Liquefied Petroleum Gas)

MNC Multinational company

MoEF Ministry of Environment and Forest of the Government of India

MP Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer

NCL National Chemical Laboratory, Pune

NGO Non-governmental organisation

ODA Overseas Development Assistance

ODP Ozone depleting potential

ODS Ozone depleting substances

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

RAC Refrigeration and Air-conditioning

RACSSS Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Sector Strategy Study

RMP Refrigeration Management Plan

SAEFL Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape

SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation

SME Small and micro enterprises

TERI TATA Energy Research Institute

TÜV Technischer Überwachungs-Verein

UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro 1992

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

Table 6: Abbreviations and glossary of terms.

7 6 A n n e x

Annex 2: List of publications and reports since 1997

The following provides a list of publications, reports and papers prepared by

ECOFRIG actors.

Title Author Date

ECOFRIG Project, "Hydrocarbon Refrigerators" (Phase 5, IV-B05 and Phase 6, V-B06, May 1996 - April 1997)

S. Devotta, NCL, Pune

April 1997

Sources of Supply of Hydrocarbon Refrigerants Propane (R290) and Isobutane (R600a)

D.D. Arora, TERI May 1997

Manual on safe design and manufacturing of commercial refrigeration appliances using hydrocarbon refrigerants

Cool Concerns, New-bury GB, IIT Delhi,INFRAS

May 1997

Compressor performance measurements on a Kirloskar GA13612M compressor with CFC-12 and CARE30

FKW Hannover June 1997

Compressor performance measurements on a BPL BHE160L21 compressor with CFC-12 and CARE30


Compressor performance measurements on an Allwyn SA 140 compressor with CFC-12 and CARE30


Proceedings Workshop on Application of Hydrocarbon Refrigerants in Domestic and Commercial Refrigeration, 13./14. May 1997, IIT Delhi

R S Agarwal, IIT Delhi

July 1997

Preliminary conversion report for VIDEOCON 2D 200l no-frost refrigerator to R600a

Liebherr HG Ochsen-hausen

July 1997

ECOFRIG project phase II. Report on project status 07/97 and May mission

INFRAS August 1997

ECOFRIG project phase II. Report on project status 11/97 and August mission

INFRAS November 1997

Performance of refrigerators retrofitted with HFC-134a and HC blend, paper presented in Internat. Conf. on "Ozone Protection Technologies", Baltimore, 12-13 Nov. 1997

Devotta, S., Kulkarni, M.M. and Lele, M

November 1997

Comparative life cycle testing of hermetic compressors with CFC-12 and HC-blend, paper presented in InternationalConference on "Ozone Protection Technologies", Baltimore, 12-13 November, 1997.

Devotta, S., Patil, S.R., Sawant, N.N. and Kulkarni, M.M

November 1997

The ECOFRIG Project: An Indo-Swiss-German collabora-tion in Ecological Domestic and Commercial Refrigeration (Brochure)

RS Agarwal, IITDOthmar Schwank INFRAS

February 1998

Conclusions from a Technology Co-operation in Hydrocar-bon-Based Refrigeration in India for Training needs in the Micro and Small Scale Enterprise Sector, paper for the 6th TECHNET Consultation of the EPI/WHO in Copenhagen, March 16-20, 1998

RS Agarwal, IITD,Othmar Schwank andNicole North, INFRAS

February 28, 1998

A n n e x 7 7

INFRAS

Title Author Date

Technology transfer and policy related barriers in commer-cial refrigeration and A/C sector, paper presented at the IIR Conference, March 18-20, 1998

Othmar Schwank, Adrian Scheidegger, INFRAS

March 4, 1998

ECOFRIG project phase II: Report on project status 03/98 and November/December 1997 mission

INFRAS March 6, 1998

Mechanics of Decision Making in Choosing CFC-12 Alter-natives in Developing countries, in : IIT Proceedings of the IIR Conference, March 18-20, 1998

RS Iyer March 1998

Mixture of HFC-134a and HC-600a - A Promising Substitute to CFC-12, in: IIT Proceedings of the IIR Conference, March 18-20, 1998

Alox Chaube, RS Agarwal, IIT Delhi

March 1998

Performance of two door refrigerators retrofitted with a HC blend, paper presented in IIR Conference on "Emerging Trends in Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning", New Delhi, 18-20 March, 1998

Devotta, S., Murthy, M. and Sawant, N.N.

March 1998

Compressor life tests with alternatives to CFC-12, paper presented in IIR Conference on "Emerging Trends in Re-frigeration & Air-Condit.", New Delhi, 18-20 March, 1998.

Devotta, S., Patil, P.A., Joshi, S.N., Sa-want, N.N. and Sane, N.K.

March 1998

Energy Consumption of Indian Domestic Refrigerators under Field and Laboratory Conditions - a Step Towards Energy Efficiency Standards, in: IIT Proceedings of the IIR Conference, March 18-20, 1998

RS Agarwal, IIT Delhi P Bhatia, TERI

March 1998

Technology Transfer and Policy Barriers in Commercial Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, in IIT Proceeding of the IIR Conference, March 18-20, 1998

Othmar Schwank, Adrian Scheidegger, INFRAS

March 1998

Compressor – an Overview of Technology Adaptation Is-sues in India, in: IIT Proceedings of the IIR Conference, March 18-20, 1998

Ajay Mathur, Pankaj Bhatia

March 1998

An Alternative Refrigerant to R-502 for Low Temperature Applications, Proc. Of IIR conference held at New Delhi, India, pp-I-5.1-5.10


March 1998

Hydrocarbon Refrigerants for Domestic and Commercial Refrigeration Appliances, Proc. Of IIR conference held at New Delhi, India, pp-V-1.1-1.15


March 1998

Compressor life tests with HC refrigerants, paper presented in IIR Conference on "Natural Working Fluids '98", Oslo, Norway, 2-4 June, 1998.

Devotta, S., Kulkarni, M.M., Sawant, N.N., Patil, P.A. and Sane, N.K.

June 1998

ECOFRIG project phase II: Report on project status 07/98 and March and May 1998 missions

INFRAS July 10, 1998

7 8 A n n e x

Title Author Date

Hydrocarbon Blends and Blends of HFC-134a-HC-600a as Drop-in Refrigerants for Small Capacity Commercial Re-frigeration Appliances – An Experimental Study, Proc. In-ternational Refrigeration Conference at Purdue, USA, p-51


July 1998

Retrofitting of Domestic and Small Capacity Commercial Refrigeration Appliances Using Hydrocarbon Blends, Final Report A-12

RS Agarwal, IIT Delhi September, 1998

Hydrocarbon Technology for Domestic and Small Capacity Commercial Refrigeration Appliances, Proc. JSRAE Interna-tional Symposium on Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Systems in Harmony with Global Environment, Osaka Ja-pan


September 1998

Visit Report to the company BACHER Kälte-Klimatechnik, dd. 9 and 10 November 1998

M. Jannsen, Re/Gent Nov. 12, 1998

HIDECOR Pilot Phase Status Report 04/99, draft for dis-cussion in JPRC

INFRAS Dec. 3, 1998

Visit Report to the company BACHER Kälte-Klimatechnik, dd. 21 and 22 December 1998

M. Jannsen, Re/Gent December 23, 1998

Compressor performance test on 2 compressors with R-600a as a refrigerant (BPL)

M. Jannsen, Re/Gent Jan. 1, 1999

Hydrocarbon Refrigerators, ECOFRIG Project, Report on Phase B08/B09

S. Devotta, NCL Pune Jan. 1999

Visit Report to the company BACHER Kälte-Klimatechnik, dd. 1 to 5 March 1999

M. Jannsen, Re/Gent March 8, 1999

Report on HC Activities in Indonesia, Task 2 J. Gartshore, Cool Concerns

March 3, 1999

Safe Conversion and Servicing Practices of Refrigeration Appliances using Hydrocarbon Refrigerants

R.S. Agarwal, J. Gartshore, S. Kessler

April 1999

Life Cycle Testing of Hermetic Compressors with Alterna-tives to CFC 12; Proceedings for Seminar on ODS Phase-out, Bali, May 5-7 1999

Devotta, S. and Sa-want, N.N., Joshi, S.N., NCL Pune

May 1999

Retrofitting of Domestic and Small Capacity Commercial Refrigeration Appliances using Hydrocarbon Blends; Pro-ceedings for Seminar on ODS Phase-Out, Bali, May 5-7

R. S. Agarwal, IIT Delhi

May 1999

HIDECOR Pilot Phase Assessment Report 06/99 INFRAS June 3, 1999

Compressor Performance and Electrical Tests on Kirloskar AE327 and AE357 Compressors with CARE30 as Refriger-ant

M. Jannsen, Re/Gent July 6, 1999

Report of a visit to BPL, Hyderabad, India to assess the possibility of using existing test equipment for HC refrig.

M. Jannsen, Re/Gent July 28, 1999

Alternatives to CFCs and HCFCs: Impact on ODS Phase out due to Kyoto Control Measures on HFCs, Proc. Joint IPCC/ TEAP Expert Meeting on Options for the Limitation of Emissions of HFCs and PFCs, Petter Netherlands, p-229


Sep. 1999

A n n e x 7 9

INFRAS

Title Author Date

Performance of refrigerators retrofitted with R-401A and HC blend, paper presented in "20th International congress of Refrigeration", IIR/IIF, Sydney, September 1999.

Devotta, S., Sawant, N.N., Akalwadi, M.I.and Joshi, S.V

September 1999

Life tests on hermetic compressors with combination of oil and alternative refrigerants, paper presented in "20th Inter-national congress of Refrigeration", IIR/IIF, Sydney, Sep-tember 1999

Devotta, S., Sawant, N.N. and Joshi, S.N.

September 1999

India mission 15-27 September 1999: ECOFRIG, HIDECOR, Climate Change

O. Schwank, INFRAS Oct. 4, 1999

Hydrocarbon Refrigerators, ECOFRIG Project, Report on Phase H1-70B/B10

S. Devotta, NCL Pune Nov. 1999

Safe Conversion and Servicing Practices of Refrigeration Appliances using Hydrocarbon Refrigerants (Hindi lan-guage version)

R.S. Agarwal, IIT Delhi

November 1999

A Study of Sources of Supply of Hydrocarbon Refrigerants R290 and R600a

D.D. Arora, TERI Dec. 9, 1999

Hydrocarbon Refrigerants for Domestic and Commercial Refrigeration Appliances, Final Report Ecofrig Project (A08) (Volume I)


Jan. 2000

ECOFRIG phase 2: Report on project achievement by 12/99 INFRAS Jan. 12, 2000

Techno-economic feasibility report for Isobutane NCL Pune Jan. 2000

Techno-economic feasibility report for Cyclopentane NCL Pune Jan. 2000

ECOFRIG project: Credit proposal for a phase III: April 1, 2000 – March 31, 2002

INFRAS Jan. 26, 2000

Safety report on technical inspections and evaluations of a HC charging station at Rockwell Industries Ltd., Hydera-bad

TueV Suedwest, Germany

Jan./Feb. 2000

Safety report on technical inspections and evaluations of a HC charging station at Videocon Appliances Ltd., Auran-gabad


Jan./Feb. 2000

Safety report on technical inspections and evaluations of a HC charging station at Godrej-GE Appliances Ltd., Mumbai


Jan./Feb. 2000

Design and Development of Energy Efficient Low Refriger-ant Charged Bottle Cooler Using Care-30, Final Report Ecofrig Project (A08), (Volume II)


March, 2000

CDM Simulation integrating Montreal Protocol and Kyoto Protocol: A Case Study on Hydrocarbon Refrigerators, pa-per presented in the 11th Internat. Global Warming Confer-ence and Expo GW11, Boston, USA (25-28 April, 2000)

Devotta, S., Kulkarni, J., Asthana, S. and Schwank, O.

April 2000

Test report on pressure half time test as per IEC 79-15 for refrigerator thermostat (Annapurna Electronics)

CESI, Italy May 8, 2000

Calorimeter measurements on a Danfoss SC12/12G twin compressor

P. Beks, M. Jannsen, Re/gent

May 15, 2000

8 0 A n n e x

Title Author Date

Hermetic compressor performance evaluation applying a zeotropic blend instead of CFC12; Paper presented at Per-due conference July 25-28, 2000

M. Jannsen, Re/gent July 2000

Starting the ECOFRIG experience documentation; Report of the INFRAS internal kick-off workshop held on June 27, 2000

INFRAS July 17, 2000

Indien kühlt ökologisch, Tages Anzeiger vom 25. Juli 2000 News Paper Report July 25, 2000

Life Testing of Hermetic Compressor with Various Hydro-carbon Grades and Other Alternatives to CFC-12, paper presented in "4th IIR- Gustav Lorentzen Conf. on Natural Working Fluids 2000" Purdue University, USA, July 25-28

Devotta, S.,and Sa-want, N.N.

July 2000

Indien kühlt sich nun ökologisch ab; Indische Unternehmer produzieren nun umweltverträgliche Kühlschränke - mit schweizerischer Hilfe, Neue Luzerner Zeitung vom 7. August 2000

News Paper Report Aug. 7, 2000

ECOFRIG Phase 2: Report on project achievement by 08/00 INFRAS Aug. 2000

Hydrocarbon Blend as Retrofit Refrigerant for Domestic Refrigerators, Paper presented at Purdue Conference July 25-28, 2000

IITD, R. S. Agarwal Aug. 2000

Assessment of the Montreal Protocol implementation proc-ess in the Indian RAC sector, Discussion Paper

TERI, India Aug. 9, 2000

Studies on Energy Efficiency of Domestic and Commercial Refrigeration Appliances, Final Report A-17.


Jan., 2001

Impact of Montreal Protocol on Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Industry, Proc. ACRECONF International Conference on Emerging Technologies in Air-conditioning and Refrigeration, New Delhi, India, p-3


Feb, 2001

Retrofitting of domestic refrigerator with blends of HFC-134a/HC-600a using mineral oil, paper presented at the Thermophysical properties and transfer processes of new refrigerants – IIR Commission B1 Conference at Paderborn, Germany, 3-5 October, 2001

Devotta, S., Parkhi, M. P., Joshi, R. V., Ku-mar, V. S., Bannur, P. V.

October 2001

Documents

The ECOFRIG project · premises of the ECOFRIG industry partners Godrej Appliances Ltd, Videocon Appl i-2 Swiss and German contribution 3 million CHF, industry contribution 1.5 million