Cool Talks: "The Ki­ga­li Amend­ment to the Mon­tre­al Pro­to­col should be much mo­re am­bi­tious"

Collin, you’ve got an academic background as a chemical engineer. How long have you been applying your expertise in the field of climate-friendly cooling – and since when at Colruyt Group?

I have worked on energy related subjects since my first job, in 1992. I advised on the improvement of industrial processes, including for instance the use of cooling in a cheese factory. From 1999, climate-friendly comfort cooling was my focus at the department of refrigeration and heat pump technology, of research institute TNO in the Netherlands. I worked on adiabatic cooling but also on the integration of heat pumps in buildings and green houses and on moisture control in historic buildings. At Colruyt Group, my first projects in 2010-2013 were concerned with sustainable mobility: a hybrid truck, the use of CNG in trucks and, the introduction of hydrogen technology. In hindsight, this experience proved to be a good basis for the introduction of flammable refrigerants, since all the previous technologies were flammable as well and I know what steps to take.