Worldwide first production of climate-friendly room air conditioners running with hydrocarbons 

The Chinese air conditioner manufacturer Gree Electric Appliances Inc. announced on 14 July 2011 the official opening of its production line for room air conditioners running with hydrocarbons as refrigerant. The air conditioners are saving direct and indirect emissions.

The Chinese air conditioner manufacturer Gree Electric Appliances Inc. announced on 14 July 2011 the official opening of its production line for room air conditioners running with hydrocarbons (Propane, R290) as refrigerant. The production line passed successfully the acceptance test of a Chinese-German expert committee. The project was funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) within the framework of the International Climate Initiative (ICI) and implemented by the programme Proklima by the German International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH. Gree is the first original equipment manufacturer worldwide that is applying this sustainable technology in room air-conditioners.

Since 2008, Gree experts have worked on the development of the new air conditioners with support from Proklima. With completion of the project, the final product gained TUEV certification and is compliant with European standards. By this it is possible to produce and launch models that are saving direct emissions by using a climate-friendly refrigerant as well as indirect emissions with energy savings of up to 15% compared with conventional appliances. This is of special importance as China is the most important production place for air conditioners worldwide with 75% of world market production. Gree alone is producing 40 million air conditioners per year. At the beginning the new production line will produce 100,000 units per year. 

The project is a jump start to revolutionize the Chinese (and worldwide) market for air conditioners and to pave the way for a sustainable future.