Daikin Industries has announced that it is offering companies worldwide free access to 93 patents, to encourage companies to develop and commercialise air conditioning, cooling and heat pump equipment that use HFC-32 as a single component refrigerant.
HFC-32 (difluoromethane) has lower global warming impact than commonly-used refrigerants and is a next generation refrigerant that addresses a range of environmental considerations in a balanced manner. It is a non-ozone depleting substance, is energy efficient, affordable, is easier to recycle, and has a global-warming potential (GWP) that is one-third of that of R-410A, the most commonly used refrigerant. Daikin believes that these advantages make it the most balanced and promising next-generation refrigerant solution to reduce the environmental footprint of residential and commercial air-conditioning, cooling and heat pump equipment.
The avoided carbon emission benefits of a transition to HFC-32 would be very significant. If all presently used R-410A refrigerant is replaced by HFC-32, the total CO2 equivalent impact of HFCs could be reduced by up to 24% in 2030, compared to business as usual scenarios, Daikin says.
Shinya Okada, Daikin's senior executive officer, said: 'Daikin has been offering free access to these patents in emerging markets since 2011 to accelerate the phase-out of ozone-depleting refrigerants, such as HCFC-22. Given the urgent need to address climate change, Daikin believes that this is the right time to extend free access to certain HFC-32 equipment patents to manufacturers worldwide.'
There is no patent that covers the HFC-32 chemical itself and it is readily available from suppliers other than Daikin. This free access to certain patents allows manufacturers to use Daikin's technologies for air-conditioning, cooling and heat pump equipment using HFC-32 single component refrigerant and encourages the global industry to grow responsibly as well as meet rising demand.
Companies interested in obtaining access to these patents should contact Daikin Legal.