Honeywell Inaugurates State-of-the-Art Refrigerant Laboratory at the India Technology Center

New lab will support local OEMs in transitioning to next-generation refrigerants

New Delhi, February 16, 2017: Honeywell (NYSE: HON) has announced the inauguration of a state-of-the-art refrigerant laboratory at the Honeywell India Technology Center (HITC) in Gurgaon, Haryana. The laboratory was unveiled by Robert Kemp, Deputy Minister Counselor, Economic, Environment, Science, and Technology at the United States Embassy, who dedicated HITC’s new lab in the region. The day also commemorates the fifth anniversary of the HITC, one of the company’s main technology development hubs outside of the United States.

The new laboratory will support local and regional OEM partners in designing, incubating and testing new refrigerants, while helping them transition to low-global-warming-potential (LGWP) alternatives. The new Honeywell laboratory is fully equipped with modern equipment to evaluate air conditioning and refrigeration technologies. Amongst other capabilities, the laboratory can simulate in environmental chambers a full spectrum of global temperatures, from the hottest places on earth to the coldest.

As one of the key signatories to the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol,India has committed to cutting down hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)use. By reducing the use of chemicals with high global-warming-potential (GWP), the historic amendment aims to limit the global temperature increase to no more than 0.5°C by the end of the century.

“Honeywell is committed to providing next-generation solutions that are available today as an option to support the Indian government on transitioning from HFCs to environmentally preferable materials,” said Julien Soulet, Managing Director for Honeywell Fluorine Products in Europe, Middle East, Africa and India. “With the launch of this laboratory at HITC, we look forward to working hand-in-hand with our Indian partners to design near drop-in refrigeration solutions that help them meet their environmental commitments.”

Honeywell is a world leader in the development, manufacture and supply of refrigerants that are sold worldwide under the Solstice^®and Genetron^®brand names for a range of applications, including refrigeration, building and automobile air conditioning. Honeywell works closely with OEMs to support the transition to next generation products.

“Honeywell’s new state-of-the-art refrigerant lab is designed to support our local customers and partners in India as they work to transition to next-generation materials,” said Rajiv Banavali, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Honeywell, Advanced Materials.“First mover customers in the region will benefit from the development of an industry based on environmentally preferable LGWP refrigerants that is aligned with the Government of India’s vision of Make in India.”

Honeywell and its suppliers are in the middle of a $900 million investment program in technology development and new capacity based on Honeywell’s hydrofluoro-olefin (HFO) technology, which helps customers lower their carbon footprint without sacrificing end-product performance.Honeywell has a diversified global supply network that includes commercial partnerships with manufacturers in India, China and Japan.

Worldwide adoption of Solstice products has resulted in the reduction of more than 39 million metric tons of greenhouse gases to date, equal to permanently eliminating emissions from more than 7.5 million cars.

Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)