Press Release 

Thermo King Offers New Choices for Sustainable Rail HVAC

18th September 2018

Brussels, Sept. 18, 2018 – Thermo King®, a leader in transport temperature control solutions for a variety of mobile applications and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, showcased its latest heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) innovations that meet the evolving needs of the rail transport at InnoTrans, the world’s largest rail transport trade fair held from 18th to 21st of September in Berlin, Germany.

For decades, Thermo King has been offering world-class solutions for rail systems across double-decker, light rail, metro and high speed rail applications around the globe to reduce energy consumption and costs, while increasing passenger comfort and decreasing harmful environmental emissions.

“Now, we are breaking ground by offering our Rail HVAC units that combine the same high performance, reliability and passenger comfort but with an improved environmental performance courtesy of the lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerant,” said Jessica Poliner vice president and general manager for Thermo King Global Marine, Rail and Air. “Rail OEMs can now be confident that reducing the environmental impact of their operations does not mean lower performance and a higher price.”

Thermo King is one of the first manufacturers to introduce a solution that offers customers a choice of refrigerant to help them meet their sustainability goals while staying ahead of future regulation. The new R513A refrigerant, now available as an option in existing Rail HVAC units with R134a, has a reduced GWP by more than a half.

As is the case with any new refrigerant introduced in the market, Thermo King will continue to offer customers with its current line of products, and will ensure that optimum levels of service are offered throughout the products’ lifecycle until customers are ready to transition.

All of Thermo King’s next generation refrigerant-based product development is endorsed by the Ingersoll Rand EcoWise™ portfolio. These are products designed to lower environmental impact with next generation, low GWP refrigerants and high efficiency operation.

Thermo King product development is driven by the Ingersoll Rand Climate Commitment, a public commitment to increase the energy efficiency and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) related to our operations and that of our products. The Ingersoll Rand Climate Commitment includes:

  • 50 percent reduction in GHG refrigerant footprint of its products by 2020 and lower-GWP alternatives across its portfolio by 2030;
  • $500 million investment in product-related research and development to fund long-term GHG reduction;
  • 35 percent reduction in the greenhouse gas footprint of its own operations by 2020.

To date, Ingersoll Rand’s Climate Commitment has enabled the avoidance of 11 million metric tons of CO2e globally from its products compared to a 2013 baseline, equal to the emissions from the energy used in 1.6 million homes for one year. The company also has reduced the GHG intensity of its operations by 23 percent when compared to a 2013 baseline.