ITALY: Italian company Angelantoni Test Technologies has announced the availability of R472A, another lower GWP replacement for R23 in ultra low temperature applications.

Following hot on the heels of Koura’s ULT offering, R473A, Angelantoni’s patented blend is another A1 non-flammable refrigerant but boasts a GWP of just 353, the lowest of all the R23 replacements.

Suitable for temperatures down to -70°C, R472A is a blend of 69% CO2, 19% R134a and 12% R32. It is said to provide better performance than R32.

The refrigerant is said to be the result of over five years of work in partnerships with universities, research and accreditation centres. Available in Angelantoni’s own test chambers, it is said to be easily retrofittable without any modifications to the cooling plant and with no adverse affect on performance.

Angelantoni says that refrigeration plants currently using R23 are 99% compatible with R472A. Those machines that are not perfectly compatible can be adapted simply, without structural modifications. R472A is also said to be proven to be compatible with the components used in R23 cascade refrigeration plants.

While unknown as a refrigerant developer, Angelantoni Test Technologies is a leader in the manufacture of simulated environmental test chambers. It has three production plants in Italy and four foreign sales and service branches. The refrigerant will be sold under Angelantoni’s ACS brand.

Increasing environmental pressures have focused attention on finding a replacement for R23, a specialist refrigerant with a vital use, but a an extremely high GWP of 14,800.

In 2019, Weiss Technik, a German environmental test chamber manufacturer, announced the development of R469A, an R23 replacement with a GWP of 1357. Another A1 refrigerant, R469A blends 35% CO2 with 32.5% of R32 and 32.5% R125.