The Republic of South Sudan has ratified the Kigali Amendment, becoming the latest country to join this process. As required by the Amendment, South Sudan has committed to cutting its production and consumption of HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) by more than 80% by 2045.
Prior to this, Madagascar completed its ratification in August 2026, and South Sudan joined on October 23, 2026. According to the published ratification timelines, since Micronesia became the first to ratify in 2017, the number of acceding countries has continued to grow, and the coverage has expanded from the initial island nations to major economies in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Relationship Between HFC Reduction and Cold Storage Industry
HFCs are one of the most common refrigerant groups in cold storage refrigeration systems. The phased reduction under the Amendment means that the use of high GWP (Global Warming Potential) refrigerants in new projects will narrow year by year, and the rules for equipment selection, maintenance, charging and refrigerant recovery will change accordingly.
For customers preparing cold storage projects, the practical impacts of this process focus on three areas: First, refrigerant types will continue to shift towards low GWP, and compatibility of compressors and heat exchangers with the working fluid needs to be confirmed simultaneously during unit selection; Second, compliance requirements for refrigerant procurement and recovery are becoming stricter, and records must be kept for charging and recovery; Third, systems designed with high GWP working fluids in the early stage may face assessments of refrigerant replacement and component replacement during subsequent retrofits.
Practical Suggestions for Cold Storage Engineering
Determining the working fluid at the selection stage is more cost-effective than retrofitting after completion. Different types of cold storage, temperature ranges and usage intensities correspond to different suitable working fluids: the differences in heat transfer characteristics between low-temperature cold storage warehouses and high-temperature cold storage warehouses will directly affect the configuration of units and pipelines. Engineering parties need to consider the working fluid, units, pipelines and later maintenance together at the planning stage.
Guizhou Hongya Glacier Refrigeration Equipment Co., Ltd. will confirm the refrigerant solution based on customers' actual working conditions in cold storage engineering and unit configuration, and provide pipeline configuration and commissioning parameter records upon delivery, to facilitate subsequent maintenance and compliance record-keeping.
Refrigerant reduction is a long-term process that will not change the operation mode of existing cold storage in the short term, but it is continuously affecting the selection standards for new projects. Matching the working fluid with the system in advance is a more reliable approach at present.
Guizhou Hongya Glacier Refrigeration Equipment Co., Ltd.
2026-10-27
