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Automotive breakthrough with new environmental-friendly A/C technology
(Feb. 18, 2002) Denso Corporation has signed a global licensing contract with Hydro Pronova AS for use of a new technology in its automotive air-conditioning and heating systems. The agreement represents a major breakthrough in the automotive industry's effort to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
 ENVIRONMENTAL-FRIENDLY: By changing from present chemicals to natural carbon dioxide based A/C systems, car makers can considerably reduce greenhouse gas emissions. |
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Shecco™ is an energy efficient and "green" heating and cooling technology that uses naturally occurring carbon dioxide. The patented technology was developed at the university in Trondheim, Norway. Hydro has the global and exclusive rights to license the technology.
Denso, based in Japan, is one of the three largest global manufacturers of automotive air-conditioning systems and key components. It supplies half the Japanese market and several international car companies with millions of systems every year.
"This is a breakthrough for the automotive industry," says vice president and general manager Kjell Stenstadvold of Shecco™ Technology, a part of Hydro Pronova AS. "We are most pleased that Denso, as a leader in its field, now is in a position to offer a "green" solution to its automotive customers after signing the contract for the patented technology."
The driving force behind the introduction of Shecco™ Technology has been to find alternatives to the powerful greenhouse gases presently used as refrigerants in automotive air-conditioning systems. Shecco™, however, has two additional benefits compared to current A/C systems: It helps reduce energy consumption by approximately 25 percent, and it significantly speeds up the interior heating of cars in cold winter conditions.
A recent report from the EU Environment Directorate indicates that by changing from present chemicals to natural carbon dioxide based systems, carmakers may reduce greenhouse gas emissions from European cars with 30 to 40 million tons (sum of leakage and reduced energy consumption) annually by 2010.
"This is a technology that will clearly benefit the environment," says vice president Jan Hurlen of Shecco Technology. "Denso will be the first to use our technology, but we expect others to follow suit. In particular the European car industry has been testing the technology for some years with promising results."
In 2000, Denso and Hydro entered their first Shecco™ Technology agreement for heat pumps for residential hot water. To ensure that the Japanese can continue to have their daily bath, this usage was pushed by the power companies in Japan to save peak load energy consumption. Shecco™ is significantly more energy efficient than alternative technologies in this application, and has been on the market in Japan since the middle of 2001.
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Shecco™ Technology was developed at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the R&D foundation SINTEF, both in Trondheim, Norway, following the 1987 Montreal Agreement, which decided to phase out ozone-depleting CFC substances used in automotive air conditioning. The Shecco™ solution, first patented 1989, was simple and elegant: using naturally occurring carbon dioxide in a transcritical cycle.
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Later research and development has demonstrated that the technology is versatile and efficient in virtually all heating and cooling/refrigeration systems. The main benefits of the Shecco™ Technology are: no greenhouse effect, very energy efficient (cooling and heating), heating water to 90 C° as heat pump, still efficient down to minus 25 C° as air heat pump, and fast heating and cooling (comfort factor).
- After Montreal the air conditioning industry changed to HFC substances which have no ozone depleting effect, but a very strong greenhouse effect. It is some 1300-1500 times that of naturally occurring CO2. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol lists several greenhouse gases, including HFCs, which should be the focus for reduction. Since then, interest in Shecco™ Technology has increased significantly, and several Japanese and European carmakers have indicated plans to introduce carbon dioxide based A/C systems. All known practical solutions include the use of Shecco's proprietary patented technology.
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The Shecco™ Technology agreement is in line with Denso's work to achieve environmentally friendly development and design, and in particular, the company's aim to take action with respect to the greenhouse effect as caused by vehicle air conditioners. In order to help prevent global warming, Denso has been working to develop air conditioners that accommodate a new refrigerant replacing HFC. The company states that it will accomplish this by fostering "the development of new technologies and products using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant." Denso, Hydro and SINTEF started cooperation on transcritical carbon dioxide development 10 years ago.
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The Shecco™ Technology is continuously being developed in close cooperation with SINTEF, the R&D foundation linked to NTNU in Trondheim. Hydro Pronova, a wholly owned subsidiary of Norsk Hydro, has the global and exclusive rights to license the Technology based on the patents owned by SINTEF.
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