Star believes its Azane technology, designed to operate with one tenth of the charge of a traditional refrigeration system, will be a game changer in the US region, which is preparing to phase out R22. The industrial refrigeration group, whose Azanechiller and Azanefreezer have been installed in a number of locations, said it developed the unique technology to meet the challenges of Europe’s phasing out of R22. In the US, the EPA’s phase-out timetable for R-22 will gradually decrease its production until a complete ban comes into force in 2020. The cost of R-22 will continue to rise and existing R-22 refrigeration systems will become uneconomical long before the substance is banned completely, Star said. The Azanechiller and Azanefrezeer are factory-built industrial refrigeration packages in Pennsylvania, which use the natural refrigerant ammonia and have been designed to operate with one tenth of the charge of a traditional refrigeration system, therefore avoiding the burden of OSHA’s PSM and the EPA RPM requirements. Ammonia is also future-proof, Star said, since with zero ODP and zero GWP, it is not under threat of being banned, unlike HFCs.