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The Cool Up programme was represented at the 9th IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain (ICCC 2026) held in Istanbul on 13-14 April 2026, by Sinisa Prodanovic (Öko Recherche GmbH) and Ecem Ersoy (UNDP Türkiye).
The Cool Up programme shared research insights on natural refrigerants and sustainable cold chains at the 9th IIR Conference on Cold Chain Sustainability
The opening panel “Sustaining the Cold Chain – From Türkiye to the World” brought together high-level representatives from industry, academia, government, and international organizations, offering a multi-dimensional perspective on scaling sustainable cold chain solutions globally. During the panel, Ms Meral Mungan Arda from UNDP Türkiye shared key insights on the sector, emphasised the importance of international organisations in enabling this transition and climate finance and highlighted that the sustainable cold chain should be reframed as a strategic climate and development solution delivering emissions reduction, resilience, and inclusive economic benefits
- ICCC 2026 brought together global experts from academia, industry, and policy, reinforcing its role as a leading platform to address sustainability challenges in the cold chain.
- Key discussions focused on decarbonisation, energy efficiency, natural refrigerants, and food security, highlighting the need for integrated solutions across the value chain.
- The conference emphasised international collaboration and innovation, positioning Türkiye as a strategic hub in advancing sustainable cold chain solutions across regions.
On the second day of the conference, the Cool Up team presented the latest Cool Up research paper titled:
“Hydrocarbon refrigerant supply chain and demand for domestic and commercial refrigeration in Türkiye: Status and outlook.”
Key messages from the paper:
- Türkiye is already a major exporter of refrigeration equipment using natural refrigerants, yet domestic hydrocarbon refrigerant use remains limited.
- Demand for hydrocarbon refrigerants is projected to grow significantly by 2050, especially in commercial refrigeration.
- Establishing local HC purification and production capacity could improve supply security, stabilise prices, and enhance competitiveness.
- Timing, regulatory certainty, technician training, and financial support are critical to accelerating the transition.
- Türkiye’s strategic geographic position offers strong potential to become a regional supplier of products using natural refrigerants to EU, MENA, and global markets.
The presentation highlighted Türkiye’s evolving role in the global transition towards natural refrigerants and sparked valuable discussions on both challenges and opportunities in advancing sustainable cooling solutions.
