How covert tests in our Gold Coast workshop helped a global environmental innovation
Just over 30 years ago, SuperCool announced that R134a refrigerant could be simply and reliably retrofitted in motor cars operating with R12 refrigerant, heavily reducing CFC emissions.
SuperCool’s Southport workshop was the first in Australia to trial the replacement of old CFC units with the newly developed R134a, and SuperCool Group’s Managing Director, Mark Mitchell, shares how he undertook a series of covert trials for some of the world’s leading manufacturers.
By the end of 1993, Mark and his team at SuperCool had proven that R12 cars could indeed be converted to R134a thanks to a fairly simple lubricant change using either PAG or POE oil. Mark notes that whilst this discovery was a real positive for the environment, the established industry players who had a stake in the outcome wanted to remain incognito until ownership of R134a and oil type manufacturing was settled.
“I was given the approval to go public about it but without mentioning their names. The refrigerant manufacturers were still battling over patent rights to R134a, hence the ‘manufacturer from USA’ statement in the original TV interview.”
“Castrol and ICI also wanted to remain anonymous due to the battles they were having with others over patent rights for PAG and POE formulas.”
“Following the success of the trials, ICI flew me to the UK to meet the team that invented the first POE68 oils. The timing for this announcement was in the same month the S Class Benz was released in Australia.”
In early nineties dollars, the cost to retrofit a vehicle’s air conditioning system with R134a was around $150 – $240, making it a relatively affordable exercise that helped to curb the widespread use of ozone-depleting CFCs. Then, from around 1993 onwards, almost every vehicle came off the production line with an R134a system.
Three decades on, R134a is still present in many vehicles however minimising impact on the environment is still the primary goal driving innovation in refrigerant technology. Lower GWP refrigerants such as R1234yf were mandated into all new air conditioning systems on cars made in the USA and Europe from 2022, and in 2013 SuperCool was asked by Chemours Australia to assist with determining the operational characteristics of Opteon 1234yf in existing systems which has proven to be highly successful.
SuperCool and Unicla remain committed to advocating for better environmental outcomes both now and into the future.
