The Refrigeration School, Inc. (RSI), Phoenix, Arizona, has announced a first of its kind partnership with Valley Metro Rail. The partnership provides specialized HVACR training for Valley Metro maintenance technicians to continue their career and technical development. Valley Metro Rail serves an average of 50,000 riders a day and operates along 26 miles in Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa.

The global refrigerants market is estimated at $14.49 billion (U.S.) in 2017 and is projected to reach $18.05 billion by 2022, a compound annual growth rate of 4.5 percent.

We all know that these are interesting times in Refrigerationland. CFCs are history, HCFCs are on their way out, and HFCs are being scrutinized and phased down; dozens of new refrigerants are in the works or have already arrived on the scene; naturals are poised to claim a bigger share of the market; we’re in the Paris agreement and then we’re out, and no one knows what that might mean for the Kigali Amendment; and the Department of Energy is always lurking about, ramping up efficiency standards.

Honeywell has started commercial operations at its new manufacturing plant in Geismar, Louisiana to meet growing global demand for hydrofluoroolefin (HFO)-1234yf, a next-generation mobile air conditioning refrigerant. According to Honeywell, with this start-up, the plant has become the world's largest site for producing HFO-1234yf, which is sold commercially as Solstice^® yf.

Axiom Energy has been honored with a Gold Stevie® Award for Energy Innovation in the 15^th annual American Business Awards. The award recognized Axiom for its Refrigeration Battery, one of which is operating at a Whole Foods Market in Los Altos, California. According to Axiom Energy, other Refrigeration Batteries are scheduled for installation at a Walmart store in San Diego and planned for utilization by Con Edison in its Brooklyn and Queens New York territories.

Brad Kivlan has been named CEO of Dynatemp International Inc., a privately held supplier of hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants and refrigerant services. Kivlan had been serving as the company’s vice president of operations.