In 1995, Advanced Technology Program (ATP) funded a joint venture project, involving Air Products and Chemical, Inc., and Toromont Process System, Inc., to design, fabricate, and pilot test closed-cycle air refrigeration (CCAR), a new form of industrial refrigeration that uses environmentally benign dry air as the working fluid.

CCAR was developed as a cost effective technology for the ultra-cold –70°F to –150°F temperature range. Development and successful pilot test were completed in 1999. The CCAR technology is currently in an active marketing phase and generating considerable interest for food processing, marine propulsion, and petrochemical industry applications.

The primary markets for CCAR deployment will be the $131 billion further processed and ready-to-eat segments of the U.S. food industry. In these rapidly growing segments, CCAR is poised to provide:

• Improved food safety through rapid freezing of precooked processed foods
• Improved food quality and food processing yields
• Reduced environmental emissions from diesel-powered road transportation of liquid nitrogen and other cryogenic material.

Based on primary research and analysis completed during 2000 and early 2001, the case study projects a substantial public return on ATP’s investment in CCAR technology:

• Benefit-to-cost ratio of 220:1 to 280:1 (Base Case versus Optimal Scenario)
• Net present value of $459–$585 million (2001 dollars)
• Internal rate of return of 83–90 percent
• $5–6 million incremental U.S. export sales each year
• 12,000–14,000 truck deliveries of cryogens (and associated diesel emissions) avoided each year

Beyond food processing, the CCAR technology has significant potential for deployment in the volatile organic compound recovery industry, the liquid natural gas industry, and the pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries. One example of prospective deployment in the above markets is the utilization of CCAR technology for liquid natural gas marine terminals that supply natural gas to ocean-going vessels. Displacing marine diesel fuel with natural gas is expected to result in 98 percent reduction in carbon monoxide, 55 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide, and 95 percent reduction in particulate emissions.

The case study concludes that the new CCAR technology has made significant progress toward meeting the necessary conditions for commercialization and market acceptance. These conditions are the:

• Successful completion of technical development and demonstration phases
• Market studies indicating substantial demand in the food processing industry
• Informal market intelligence indicating good potential in the volatile organic compound recovery, liquid natural gas, pharmaceutical, and petrochemical industries
• Technological advantages that can be translated into business advantages
• Active marketing of CCAR systems by Air Products

Based on the above elements of progress, the study further concludes that the anticipated public returns from ATP’s investment in CCAR technology, the broad-based economic benefits to the food processing industry and consumers, and the substantial environmental benefits from avoided refrigerant emissions and transport emissions have a high probability of being realized.

Owing to Air Products’ assessment of project risk and their earlier decision to de-prioritize the development of a high-risk CCAR technology, it is unlikely that CCAR technology would have been developed without ATP funding. As a result, the above benefits can be directly attributed to the ATP investment.