IR News
Hoshizaki to Finish Transitioning All Standard Commercial Refrigerators1 for the Japanese Market to Natural Refrigerants by the End of 2024
Leading the Shift from HFCs to Natural Refrigerants to Facilitate Mitigation of Environmental Impact
HOSHIZAKI CORPORATION (Head office: Toyoake City, Aichi; President & CEO : Yasuhiro Kobayashi; hereafter “Hoshizaki”) has upgraded its commercial refrigerator, freezer, and refrigerator-freezer models and will launch 364 new models (251 upright models and 113 undercounter models). This will enable the company to finish converting the refrigerant gases of all its standard commercial refrigerator, freezer, and refrigerator-freezer models (the standard lineup)1 for the Japanese market from hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) to low-environmental-impact natural refrigerants2 by the end of 2024. Hoshizaki will start shipping the new models out successively from mid-December and will sell them through its 15 sales companies nationwide.
Commercial Natural Refrigerant-Based Refrigerators
RT-150SNJ (undercountertable-type) and HR-120BT (upright-type)
Leading the Shift from HFCs to Natural Refrigerants in Commercial Cooling Equipment
As Hoshizaki shifts from HFC-based to HFC-free models, it is actively adopting natural refrigerants, which are substances that exist naturally in the environment, rather than being produced by humans. The company was among the first in the industry to develop commercial refrigerators using natural refrigerants. It started selling these products overseas in 2009, and in Japan, made-to-order products within Japan in August 2022, then products in the value price range in May 2023. Within the Japanese market, the company managed to transition some of its ice machines to natural refrigerants as well. The upgrading this time gives the company Japan’s most extensive lineup3 of commercial natural refrigerant-based refrigerators, enabling it to offer a wide array of options to its customers.
Across the industry, natural refrigerants are increasingly used in standard models of domestic refrigerators in the world including Japan, as well as in small ice machines overseas.4 As a global company, Hoshizaki will further contribute to reducing the impact on the earth’s environment by leading and promoting the refrigerant gas transition to natural refrigerants.
Large Reduction in Impact on Global Warming
Switching to natural refrigerants substantially lowers5 the impact on global warming compared to Hoshizaki’s previous models using HFCs. As a manufacturer of products that use refrigerant gases, the company will make a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout a product’s entire life cycle by mitigating the impact that the CFCs/HCFCs/HFCs used in its products have on the environment.
Updated Exterior Design
● To enable smooth opening and closing of doors, Hoshizaki changed the upper section of its door handles from a curved shape to a more rectilinear shape to increase the area available for gripping.
● Hoshizaki sharpened up the design of its temperature display panels, which include LCD displays indicating products’ operating status.
Product Launch Lineup
| Type | Models | Width | Depth | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upright-type (Height 1910 mm) |
2516 | 625 mm–1800 mm | Thick (800 mm) Thin (650 mm) |
Single-/Three-phase |
| Undercounter-type (Height 800 mm) |
1137 | 900 mm–2100 mm | Thick 750 mm) Thin (450 mm, 600mm) |
Single-/Three-phase |
Prices (Representative models only)
| Type | Category | Dimensions (width & depth) |
Model | Standard price (excl. tax) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upright-type (Height 1910 mm) |
Refrigerator | Width 1200 mm Depth 800 mm |
HR-120B | 1,372,000 JPY |
| Refrigerator-freezer | Width 1200 mm Depth 800 mm |
HRF-120B | 1,592,000 JPY | |
| Freezer | Width 750 mm Depth 800 mm |
HF-75B | 1,366,000 JPY | |
| Undercounter-type (Height 800 mm) |
Refrigerator | Width 1500 mm Depth 600 mm |
RT-150SNJ | 929,000 JPY |
| Refrigerator-freezer | Width 1500 mm Depth 600 mm |
RFT-150SNJ | 1,275,000 JPY | |
| Freezer | Width 1500 mm Depth 600 mm |
FT-150SNJ | 1,296,000 JPY |
1 . Excludes some derivative models and special-order models.
2. Natural refrigerants refer to substances that exist naturally in the environment and are used as refrigerants for freezing and air conditioning. These eco-friendly refrigerants have an ozone depletion potential (ODP) of zero and a very low global warming potential (GWP). The GWP is a value indicating the potential of a greenhouse gas to warm the earth when the value for carbon dioxide (CO2) is set at 1. Hoshizaki uses isobutane (R-600a) and propane (R-290); according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) OzonAction Kigali Fact Sheet 3 (released in 2017), the GWP for these substances is 3, while the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2022 (released in October 2022) puts it at <<1 (significantly less than 1).
3. According to Hoshizaki internal research as of November 30, 2024.
4. According to the UNEP 2022 Report of the Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heat Pumps Technical Options Committee, 2022 Assessment (RTOC Assessment Report 2022), it is estimated that over 800 million domestic refrigerators using isobutane have already been produced in the world, including Japan, and that they accounted for around 75% of production in 2020. It is also reported that small ice machines sell in Europe and other regions with isobutane and propane refrigerants as a standard option.
5. Hoshizaki’s previous versions of the products announced in this press release used R-134a as their refrigerant gas. According to the UNEP OzonAction Kigali Fact Sheet 3, the GWP value is 1430.
6. Includes pillar-less models (no pillars dividing the compartment inside) and water-cooled models (equipped with a water-based refrigeration unit).
7. Includes pillar-less models and right-hand unit models (the refrigeration unit section is on the right-hand side).
Related link
About Hoshizaki’s advanced technology and service system
https://www.hoshizaki.co.jp/p/f-refrigerator/nr/#service (Japanese only)
Reference: The Refrigerant Gas Transition Away from HFCs
HFCs do not deplete the ozone layer but, as greenhouse gases, have an extremely high global warming potential (GWP) ranging from several tens of times to more than ten thousand times that of carbon dioxide (CO2), according to the Ministry of the Environment’s portal site on the Fluorocarbon Emissions Control Act. Therefore, international society at large has shown a growing interest in the shift from HFCs to HFC-free alternatives. In October 2016, the 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol held in Kigali, Rwanda, amended the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (which entered into force in January 1989) to make mandatory systemized cuts to the production and consumption of HFCs (the Kigali Amendment). Today, 163 countries (including EU) have ratified, accepted, or approved the Kigali Amendment (according to the United Nations website as of November 12, 2024).
Japan accepted the Kigali Amendment in December 2018. In 2019, Japan added HFCs as specified substances under the Act on the Protection of the Ozone Layer Through the Control of Specified Substances, etc. and Other Measures and revised its Fluorocarbon Emissions Control Act. Furthermore, to achieve the target for reduction of HFC emissions (a 55% reduction by fiscal 2030 compared with fiscal 2013) set in the Plan for Global Warming Countermeasures (the government’s comprehensive plan based on the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures), Japan is promoting implementation of measures throughout the CFCs/HCFCs/HFCs lifecycle, including mitigating the impact that CFCs/HCFCs/HFCs used in products have on the environment.