ATMOsphere 2010 - International Workshop on Natural Refrigerants - was held on 27-28 September 2010 in Brussels to help answer one simple question: HOW to bring natural refrigerants 'Faster to Market'? 150 participants, 30 moderators, 25 speakers. 15 groups in interactive workshops bringing together all main stakeholders to discuss what policy and industry can do to support the use of CO₂, ammonia, and hydrocarbons as refrigerants in developed and developing countries. One summary report travelling to UN delegations, and major trade fairs.

Some highlights of the new "ATMOsphere formula":

• 30 Moderators: Leading experts from the policy and industry arena guided the workshop discussions to make sure that proposed solutions are innovative, focused, and practical.

• 15 Groups: Small groups with an equal distribution of different stakeholders discussed a set of questions and issues about HOW to remove market barriers, exploit technology options, adapt standards, propose legislation, and enhance knowledge exchange within and between developed and developing countries. Groups changed after one day.

• 12 Innovations: A Call for Paper selected the best market innovations using natural refrigerants around the world. Presentations just before the workshop sessions talked about solutions having left the prototype and testing phase to be applied widely. The papers selected introduced the topic of the four workshop sessions and inspired debate around how to successfully market and support such solutions.

• 10 Policy Speakers: To provide the legal context, 10 speakers from the UN and EU level, as well as representatives from public authorities in the U.S. and Japan added their view on the state of natural refrigerants in international and national debates. Speakers from developing countries raised their voice to highlight challenges and opportunities on their way from HCFCs to future-proof refrigerant solutions.
  

• 1 Report: Each group reported back to the rest of the ATMOsphere participants. Results were collected and put into one report to summarise main recommendations. This report traveled to UN negotiations in Nairobi (MOP 22) and Cancun (COP16), to the leading HVAC&R event Chillventa 2010, the International Congress of Refrigeration 2011.

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