With cooling demand expected to triple by 2050 and increase to 30 percent of global electricity consumption, global markets and populations will face increasing pressure to find more efficient, sustainable and long-term cooling solutions. Further, the climate impacts of cooling are immense with both emissions from energy usage and high global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants contributing significantly to the global climate crisis. It is estimated that a coordinated global effort towards energy-efficient cooling could avoid up to 460 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over the next 40 years. Cooling as a Service (CaaS) is one of the ways we can address the growing cooling demand and the need for more energy efficient solutions. In this three-part series, Queen’s University Engineering grad Julian Burger talks about how this model was conceived, how it works and the potential benefits of using it in North America and beyond.

THE REFRIGERATION INDUSTRY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The refrigeration industry stands in a unique position with relation to climate change. As global surface temperatures are expected to increase anywhere between 2 and 5 degrees Celsius by 2100, effects such as heat waves and warmer seasons are imminent. With these warming trends, the need for cooling is expected to increase dramatically. According to the International Energy Agency, space cooling is the fastest growing use of energy in buildings and represents 37 percent of expected global electricity demand growth from 2020 to 2050. From the increase in cooling demand accelerated by climate change, the refrigeration industry will play a huge role in adapting to the effects of a warming planet.

On the other hand, the industry itself is a major producer of emissions through consumption of energy and the use of high GWP refrigerants. While higher-efficiency cooling options exist, they often come at a higher capital cost making them less accessible for mainstream adaptation. This positioning as an industry that is both a contributor and a necessary solution for future climate adaptation points to an essential shift towards more sustainable practises.

GOVERNMENTAL TARGETS AND THE ROLE OF REFRIGERATION COMPANIES

As a result of The Paris Agreement in 2016, the Government of Canada made a commitment to reduce its emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. With this commitment, one of the key policies which the federal government has proposed is the Federal Greenhouse Gas Offset System. This offset system is essentially a mechanism by which greenhouse gas offset credits can be created, purchased, or sold between companies to ensure that they are meeting their required emissions reduction. In theory, a company that is unable to cut its emissions beyond what is mandated may purchase offset credits from another company or organization that is sequestering carbon.

The Government of Canada has identified advanced refrigeration systems as one of its priority project types for the development of its federal offset protocol. The protocol describes “replacing or retrofitting refrigeration systems that use GHG-intensive refrigerants” as part of its initial phase of project types to focus on. With this early emphasis placed on the need for lower-carbon refrigeration systems, the role of Canadian companies in achieving Canada’s reduction targets will be crucial. Companies that can aid in this transition towards more sustainable refrigeration practises such as the use of low GWP refrigerants and higher-efficiency systems will be directly responsible for achieving national and global targets through the offset system. As such, companies that are willing and able to make this transition quicker will also be rewarded financially through the proposed offset system. This is where solutions like Cooling as a Service come in to help accelerate investment into the much-needed high efficiency refrigeration systems. CaaS coupled with the use of low GWP refrigerants can help provide the low-cost sustainable cooling solution that will reduce emissions and improve access to high quality refrigeration.

SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH LOW-COST SOLUTIONS

One of the biggest cruxes of sustainability is the perception of an increased cost associated with lower carbon solutions. While this is also currently the case in refrigeration where cheap carbon-intensive options are abundant, high efficiency systems still have the potential to produce immense cost savings over their lifetime. CaaS comes as a prime example of this through its use of innovative financing structures to take away the high upfront capital required for more advanced systems while reaping the life cycle saving of lower energy usages.

The benefits of CaaS for medium to large sized companies were explored in the article Cooling as a Service: Is Canada Ready?  In short, by capitalizing on the economies of scale of high-efficiency systems, larger companies can see greater energy savings and in turn, lower overall costs. Examples such as Dr. Oetker, Clover’s and Afrupro have all seen successful CaaS deployments in South Africa in relatively large facilities. While this appears to be the most viable early adaptation scenario of CaaS in Canada, there is also the potential for another use of CaaS to deliver low-cost sustainable refrigeration.