For this Cool Talk, we have had the opportunity to interview Paolo Zunino. Paolo is C.E.O. at GTS S.p.A. with more than 30 years’ experience in several market segments. He started this position in 2017 and since then, along with his team of experts, he has been involved in natural refrigerant gases development all over the world.
Why joining the Green Cooling Initiative?
We believe it suits our “mission” and therefore we decided to join it.
What is your professional background and how long have you been working in this field?
I’m Electronical Engineer, with several years in sales and in medium company management, before joining this sector in 2017.
How does your company contribute to making the RAC sector more climate-friendly?
GTS manufactures R290 (opens in a new window) and R600a (opens in a new window), which are natural refrigerants with a sustainable CO2 footprint, through a distillation plant using R290 (opens in a new window)Heat Pumps while being powered by a 1MW solar plant. By reducing our “Scope 3 (opens in a new window)” emissions, we work more efficiently and subsequently make the world greener.
Where do you see the biggest obstacle for green cooling technologies at the moment?
The opposition of the chemical products “big manufacturers”.
What would an ideal cooling sector look like in the future?
A sector where only natural refrigerant gases (CO2, Ammonia and Hydrocarbons) are permitted and where chemical gases (ODP, GWP, PFAS and other in the future…) are banned!
What makes you believe that we will master the transition to Green Cooling?
The road has been traced, the technologies exist, sustainable progress cannot be stopped!
Speaking of safety: what would you say to people who think natural refrigerants are too risky to handle?
We have been using flammable gas (methane) openly in our kitchens for decades, we have R600a (opens in a new window) into our refrigerators since tens of years, we have tens of litres of flammable gas/liquids (gasoline/petrol/LPG) into our cars since more than a century, why would a few hundred grams of flammable gas be a problem all of the sudden?
