Charting a Course for HVACR Change

CB: Decarbonization is of course related to electrification, but can something be provided about how you are progressing in meeting decarbonization goals?

DW: From a global perspective, from Daikin Industries, Ltd. in Osaka, Japan, air conditioners have become vital to people’s lives around the world, and yet they emit large amounts of CO2 through energy consumption during use and from the impacts of their refrigerants. As the only manufacturer in the world to produce both air conditioners and refrigerants, Daikin recognizes it has a major social responsibility.  Daikin formulated Environmental Vision 2050 in an effort to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions (carbon neutrality) by 2050. Under the Fusion 25 Strategic Management Plan, which targets fiscal 2025, Daikin has positioned “Challenge to achieve carbon neutrality” as one of its growth strategies. The target for this strategy aims to lower net greenhouse gas emissions by 30% or more in 2025 and by 50% or more in 2030, with 2019 as the base year. Using innovative initiatives reflected in this management strategy, we will develop a roadmap to net zero greenhouse gases and aim to balance business growth with these goals.

Daikin has a “Simple. Powerful. Sustainable.” approach to decarbonization that revolves around the core technologies — low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants, inverter compressors and heat pumps — developed to create comfortable, efficient, and sustainable spaces to live and work.

From a United States and Canadian perspective, Daikin is promoting decarbonization through advancements in fully communicating equipment with inverter heat pump technology.  Daikin continues to expand its Daikin FIT heat pump product offerings which we believe provide the best solution to address the need for efficient products, alternatives to traditional fossil fuel heating systems and reduced refrigerant volume, compared to cube style R-410A systems of like capacity, which is key. 

Daikin has chosen R-32 refrigerant. We believe R-32 is the best choice to realize decarbonization goals for several reasons.  First, it is a proven commodity.  R-32 is the global low GWP refrigerant standard with over 230 million installations worldwide.  It is a simple refrigerant because it is not a blend like other A2L alternatives or even R-410A.  As a pure, single-component refrigerant, R-32 can be topped off and recharged in the field, in both liquid and gas phases, without changes in composition. It is easy to clean and reuse on-site and is easy to reclaim off-site with a simple cleaning process, particularly as compared to blends with HFOs that are typically reclaimed by being distilled to their pure compounds and then remixed.  It is more efficient and has more capacity than other A2L alternatives like R-454B. R-32 is readily available and is not a proprietary refrigerant.