Irish propane (R290) cabinet manufacturer Novum has received the Natural Refrigerants Label from ATMOsphere, a global market accelerator of clean cooling and heating solutions, and publisher of Hydrocarbons21.com.
ATMOsphere (formerly shecco) launched the “ATMO Approved” label last June as a global gold standard highlighting best-in-class manufacturers of natural refrigerant systems and components around the world. Other companies that have been awarded the label include TEKO, M&M Carnot, Secon, Mayekawa Europe, Efficient Energy, Güntner, Temprite and Zudek. Güntner, Secon, M&M Carnot and Zudek have also recently renewed their labels.
“Novum are delighted to join the ATMO Approved family and welcome this initiative for like-minded people who wish to do well by ‘doing good by our planet,’” said Jim Greene, CEO of Novum.
“The big switch to low-energy natural refrigerant solutions is happening at a rapid pace,” added Greene. “This is not just a direct response to impending environmental legislation and spiraling energy costs, but a huge effort by food retailers to future-proof their businesses for the more sustainability-minded customer of the future.”
Novum will announce its ATMO Approved label at its stand (F47 in Hall 15) at the EuroShop show in Düsseldorf, Germany, February 26–March 2. The company will also launch its new range of ultra-low energy eco-refrigeration at its EuroShop stand on Tuesday, February 28, at 2pm.
The ATMOsphere label is designed to help qualified manufacturers to market products to new customers and regions in the natural refrigerants marketplace, including products using hydrocarbons, CO2 (R744) and ammonia (R717). In addition, the label is meant to help end users to identify best-in-class suppliers.
Once approved, companies can place the ATMOsphere Natural Refrigerant Label in a myriad of places, such as directly on products, marketing material, email signatures, and company pitches and trade show booths.
“The label will be very visible in the global marketplace, and companies can take advantage of this to strengthen their brand,” noted Marc Chasserot, ATMOsphere Founder and CEO.
“By being global and multi-application, this label can help to create trust across the new applications and regions,” added Chasserot. “We want to use this multi-year label process to help move the market to cleaner solutions with natural refrigerant solutions over time.”
R290 LEAP cabinets
Based in Dublin, Novum was founded in 1959. Its R290 LEAP cabinets, like the Grand Cayman and Panama Green series, offer high energy efficiency, typically delivering a 20% reduction in energy consumption compared to HFC units, the company says. The cabinets are equipped with “thawless” technology, meaning easier defrost cycles and no thaw cycles at all. This promotes a stable freezer case temperature, reducing food loss.
Novum’s LEAP units feature hermetically self-contained cassettes with 65g (2.5oz) of refrigerant. Easily removable, the cassettes reduce the risk of leaks in store and also allow easy maintenance without costly downtime, the company notes.
In response to COVID-19, Novum developed “anti-microbial coatings” for the lid handles of refrigeration units, as well as for chest frame points
In November 2021, Novum opened a new 100,000ft2 (9,290m2) manufacturing facility for its LEAP R290 refrigerated plug-in cabinets in Dublin.
Three pillars
To qualify for an ATMOsphere label, manufacturers have to demonstrate excellence across three pillars:
1) company vision;
2) customer satisfaction (measured via testimonials from multiple end users confirming the reliability, performance and service of these companies and products); and
3) measurable impact.
Bob Krawchuk, Senior Manager of Facilities Operations Canadian & International at the North West Company, a multinational Canadian grocery retailer, commented on Novum’s Panama Green cabinets.
“We deal in the high Arctic of Canada, and a lot of small villages in Alaska, so when you put a refrigeration system in there, the key thing is what’s the flight schedule to get a qualified technician to go there. The cost of the flights is expensive, and this cost is passed on,” explained Krawchuk.
“The nice thing with the Panama Green is that you have the cassettes and if you’ve got a three-door Panama green, you will have three cassettes,” he continued. “Instead of sending a technician to take a look, we usually keep cassettes on site. It takes 15 to 20 minutes to change it and you’re back in business.”
Companies can apply for the label on the label’s webpage.
ATMOsphere has been active in the natural refrigerant space for nearly 20 years. During this time, the company has:
- published dozens of natural refrigerant-related market reports on market players, technologies and solutions worldwide across multiple applications;
- hosted over 60 international natural refrigerant conferences, bringing together thousands of experts and hundreds of speakers over nearly 15 years, covering all the latest trends and players;
- written thousands of articles reporting on natural refrigerant companies and products in the industry; and
- sent representatives to hundreds of trade shows around the world, meeting with natural refrigerant experts face-to-face (in addition to countless individual meetings outside official events).
“We feel that, as an independent player with a global mindset and a global presence across all natural refrigerants and multiple applications, we are very well suited to provide this level of approval for the label,” explained Chasserot.
“Novum are delighted to join the ATMO approved family and welcome this initiative for like-minded people who wish to do well by ‘doing good by our planet,’”
Jim Greene, CEO, Novum
