Stop leaking GWP 3,922. Stop paying to defrost.Switch the cold to CO₂.
For Philippine cold stores, frozen logistics and supermarkets still running R404A. One Karnot iCOOL CO₂ system runs every cold room, freezer and display case on GWP-1 natural refrigerant — and FLX Flex Defrost melts the frost with the heat your compressor already throws away, not an electric heater.
Why Philippine cold stores are switching to CO₂
HFC cold stores face four escalating pressures at once: wasted defrost energy, PFAS regulation, system inefficiency, and climate disclosure. CO₂ fixes the refrigerant; FLX fixes the defrost.
21% defrost energy waste
Electric defrost heaters consume 21% of total cold-store electricity. Each cycle dumps heat straight into the cold room, forcing the compressors to work harder to re-cool. See exactly where your energy goes with our Cold Chain Energy Flow Analyser.
R404A PFAS liability
R404A (GWP 3,922) is a PFAS-classified HFC. The Kigali Amendment forces an HFC phase-down and PFAS rules may restrict it further, so its service price climbs every year. CO₂ (GWP 1) has zero PFAS content and zero phase-down exposure — a future-proof refrigerant choice.
NCG penalty: 5–15% energy loss
Non-condensable gases (air, moisture) leak into HFC and ammonia systems that run below atmospheric pressure, accumulating in condensers and raising head pressure 5–15%. iCOOL CO₂ operates at positive pressure throughout the entire cycle, preventing NCG ingress.
SEC PFRS S2 disclosure
Philippine listed companies must disclose Scope 1 refrigerant emissions. R404A leaks 15–25% of charge a year — GWP 3,922 × charge × leak rate in CO₂e. Switching to CO₂ (GWP 1) eliminates this Scope 1 liability and simplifies the climate report.
One CO₂ system. Cold on one side, free heat on the other.
A complete CO₂ cold-store solution: refrigeration, zero-electricity defrost, monitoring, and the recovered heat turned into hot water. Cold rooms, freezers and supermarket cases from one rack.
iCOOL CO₂
Medium- and low-temperature refrigeration, 6–350 kW. Adiabatic gas cooler + parallel compression hold COP 3.5–4.0 at 35 °C ambient. Positive pressure throughout — no NCG ingress, no phase-down.
FLX Flex Defrost
Defrosts with zero electric heaters. Stores the CO₂ compressor's superheat in a coconut-derived PCM core — copper-foam-accelerated, ultrasonically agitated — and releases it on demand. 9.25 kWh saved per cycle, <0.5 °C product swing.
iSAVE
Real-time temperature logging, energy analytics, HACCP compliance alerts and SEC PFRS S2 carbon reporting. Proves the saving and the cold-chain integrity to your auditor every month.
iVOLT + Permafrost
Cold stores run 24/7 — ideal for solar. iVOLT zero-export PV charges Permafrost cold PCM in the day; the store rides the evening peak from stored cold. Another 30–50% off the bill.
Built for supermarkets, not just cold stores
A supermarket is a refrigeration plant with a shop attached. One integrated CO₂ system runs the lot — and gives you the heat back.
One CO₂ system, every case
Display cases, walk-in chillers, the butchery, the freezer room and the back-of-house cold store run from one transcritical CO₂ rack instead of a patchwork of leaky R404A condensing units. Fewer machines, one refrigerant, one service contract — the architecture European supermarket chains have already standardised on.
The heat you reject is free hot water
A supermarket throws off enormous condenser heat. iCOOL recovers it at the gas cooler at 75–90 °C for the deli, bakery, staff showers and wash-down — and for reheat on the dehumidification coil that keeps the aisles from fogging. One machine, two outputs.
Display cases are your biggest leak
Long pipe runs to open display cases make supermarkets the highest-leak refrigeration environment there is — 15–25% of charge a year. On R404A (GWP 3,922) that is a Scope 1 bill that grows every year. On CO₂ (GWP 1) the same leak is a rounding error.
FLX on every coil
A supermarket runs dozens of evaporator coils, each defrosting 6–8 times a day. FLX eliminates the electric defrost heater on every one — 21% of refrigeration energy that today goes straight into re-warming the food you just paid to chill.
Same cold rooms. A refrigerant with no death date.
A Philippine cold store or supermarket on R404A with electric defrost, paying full commercial tariff, switching to iCOOL CO₂ + FLX.
| Per cold store / supermarket | Today · R404A + electric defrost | Karnot iCOOL CO₂ + FLX | You stop paying |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defrost energy | 21% of cold-store energy | 0 · FLX bio-PCM defrost | ~9.25 kWh/cycle × 6–8/day |
| Refrigerant & Scope 1 | R404A GWP 3,922 · leaks 15–25%/yr | CO₂ GWP 1 · food-safe A1 | PFAS + phase-down liability |
| NCG / head-pressure penalty | 5–15% (air + moisture) | 0 · positive pressure | 5–15% compressor energy |
| Rejected heat | Dumped to atmosphere | Recovered 75–90 °C | Store hot water for free |
| Integrated retrofit (CO₂ + FLX + solar) | (legacy already paid) | Up to 60–80% off the bill | <12-month payback |
Everyone sells you CO₂. Only Karnot kills the defrost bill with it.
Conventional refrigeration defrosts its coils with an electric resistance heater — inside the room you are paying to keep cold. FLX is Karnot's patent-pending answer: a bio-PCM thermal battery that defrosts with the heat the CO₂ compressor already throws away.
Every evaporator coil defrosts 6–8 times a day with a ~10 kW electric heater that dumps heat into the cold room — then the compressor pulls it back out. A double penalty worth 21% of cold-store energy and a 5–10% COP hit.
FLX stores the CO₂ compressor's superheat in a coconut-derived phase-change core — copper-foam-accelerated, ultrasonically agitated — and releases it on demand to melt the frost. Zero electric heaters; the refrigerant never leaves cooling mode.
Saved every defrost, with <0.5 °C product temperature swing. Patent-pending (Karnot provisional 2025). Retrofits onto existing CO₂ systems or ships native in iCOOL.
Want to see where your cold store's energy actually goes? Our free Cold Chain Energy Flow Analyser models your facility — defrost, compressors, infiltration, heat recovery — and shows the FLX and CO₂ saving on your numbers.
You pay nothing up front. The bank does.
Three Philippine banks run green-loan programmes built for cold-chain CAPEX, and a CO₂ conversion is food-security infrastructure. The energy and refrigerant saving covers the loan payment many times over. Net cash flow goes up from day one.
Plus BOI Pioneer Income Tax Holiday under RA 11285 — cold-chain is food-security infrastructure. Karnot files the loan, the BOI registration, the LGU permit pack and the monthly IPMVP M&V + HACCP report your lender and your auditor want as part of project scope.
Download the Cold Chain Application Brief
A 4-page print-ready brief — the CO₂ case, the four pressures squeezing HFC cold stores, the FLX Flex Defrost differentiator, supermarket heat recovery, the numbers and bank finance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is FLX Flex Defrost?
FLX is a patent-pending bio-PCM thermal battery (Karnot provisional filed 2025) that eliminates electrical defrost heaters entirely. It stores the superheat your CO₂ compressor already rejects in a coconut-derived phase-change core — accelerated by a copper-foam matrix and ultrasonic agitation — and releases it on demand to melt frost, while the refrigerant stays in cooling mode. Saves 9.25 kWh per cycle with under 0.5°C product temperature variation.
How much does defrost waste cost a Philippine cold store?
Electric defrost typically consumes 21% of total cold-store energy. For a medium-sized facility this equates to roughly ₱41,000–₱61,500 in wasted electricity per year. FLX eliminates this entirely while also reducing the product temperature variation that causes quality loss and shrinkage.
What is the R404A PFAS liability?
R404A contains fluorinated gases classified as PFAS. With GWP 3,922 and typical leak rates of 15–25% per year, R404A creates significant Scope 1 CO₂e liabilities under SEC PFRS S2. The Kigali Amendment requires HFC phase-down. CO₂ (GWP 1) avoids all PFAS and HFC exposure.
How is CO₂ better for a supermarket specifically?
A supermarket is the highest-leak refrigeration environment there is — long pipe runs to open display cases leak 15–25% of charge a year. On R404A (GWP 3,922) that is a large, growing Scope 1 bill; on CO₂ (GWP 1) the same leak is negligible. One integrated transcritical CO₂ rack runs the display cases, walk-ins, butchery and freezer room together, and its rejected heat is recovered at 75–90 °C for the deli, bakery, staff hot water and dehumidification reheat — the architecture European supermarket chains have already standardised on.
Can CO₂ refrigeration work in Philippine tropical conditions?
Yes. iCOOL CO₂ uses transcritical operation with adiabatic gas coolers and parallel compression, engineered for high-ambient conditions, maintaining COP 3.5–4.0 at 35°C ambient through optimised gas-cooler design and flash-gas bypass.
What is the NCG penalty in cold stores?
Non-condensable gases (air, moisture) leak into systems operating below atmospheric pressure, accumulating in condensers and raising head pressure by 5–15%. iCOOL CO₂ operates at positive pressure throughout the entire cycle, preventing NCG ingress and holding design efficiency over the system lifetime.
What is the payback period for a Karnot installation?
Sub-12-month paybacks are realistic on integrated retrofits combining iVOLT solar, iCOOL CO₂ with FLX defrost, and Permafrost thermal storage at sites paying full commercial tariff. Standalone refrigeration retrofits pay back more conservatively. Most installations qualify for BOI Pioneer status and Income Tax Holiday under RA 11285, which Karnot files as part of project scope.