Cooling and freezing: not just about keeping things cool

A conversation about cooling and freezing, especially when it comes to how systems work and how buildings retain cold, can easily turn into a highly technical deep dive. Fortunately, Ward Bliemer from Willemsen Isolatiebouw, Michel Berends from Veld Koeltechniek, and Arno Eijkelboom from ICS Cool Energy manage to keep things refreshingly clear.

We discuss the latest trends and developments in this very chilled sector: what should the market expect in the coming years? Where do the biggest challenges, pitfalls, and above all, opportunities, lie?

Refrigerants

Refrigerants are essential to the operation of cooling and freezing units, heat pumps, and air conditioning systems. They come in two types: synthetic and natural. Synthetic refrigerants are produced in labs. These fluorocarbons, generally referred to as F-gases or HFCs, have been under scrutiny for years due to their high environmental impact. As long as they remain contained within the system, there’s no immediate danger, but there is always the risk of them leaking out of the system unexpectedly. Natural refrigerants, on the other hand, are substances that occur in nature, such as carbon dioxide (CO2, R744), ammonia (R717), pentane (R601), propane (R290), and isobutane (R600a). When these refrigerants leak, they have little to no greenhouse effect. But environmental impact isn’t the only reason to phase out synthetics. “Systems running on natural refrigerants consume less energy. In addition to the environmental benefit, this is a major plus,” says Michel. And as both Arno and Michel stress, regulatory pressure to make the switch to natural refrigerants is only increasing.

What’s happening?

The EU’s F-Gas Regulation mandates the complete phase-out of chemical refrigerants by 2050, starting with the most harmful and moving down the list. The ultimate goal is to only allow systems running on natural refrigerants. The regulation sets out specific restrictions by year for each type of gas. What determines the environmental impact is the GWP, or Global Warming Potential. This number reflects how damaging a greenhouse gas is, expressed as a CO2-equivalent. The higher the GWP, the worse it is for the climate.
Not all synthetic refrigerants are immediately banned; existing systems can still be serviced and topped up with substances like R32 and R410a, within limits.

Arno: “The F-Gas Regulation isn’t new, but it’s very relevant now. The rules are becoming stricter all the time. From 2030, for instance, building new systems using synthetic refrigerants will no longer be allowed. Plus, the availability of many synthetic refrigerants is rapidly decreasing. If you're not allowed, or able, to refill your installation, you risk a complete production stop.”
Michel adds: “What makes this issue even more complex is that some F-gases are still permitted under the F-Gas Regulation, but banned under other rules because they contain PFAS. That’s why we’ve already stopped building new systems that use chemical refrigerants.”

Another tightening of the rules is the upcoming expansion of personal certification. As of March 29, 2026, certification will no longer apply only to F-gases, but also to hydrocarbons (like propane and isobutane), carbon dioxide, and ammonia. Rijkswaterstaat is currently updating national laws to reflect this change, commissioned by the Ministry of Climate and Green Growth. Until then, the current BRL 100 (version 2.0) requirements still apply.

Michel Berends

Insulation

At Willemsen Isolatiebouw, a very different value than the GWP takes center stage: the Rc value, where R stands for resistance and c for construction. “It’s the total thermal resistance of the building’s insulation, the building’s ability to retain temperature,” Ward explains. “The higher the Rc, the better the thermal insulation.” Rc values vary significantly with different panels, depending on the type of PIR foam used. And the shape of it, or how well the panels fit together, plays a big role. There are regulations that set minimum Rc requirements. Ward is happy to go into more detail, but for now he’ll keep it simple: “If cold air leaks through poorly fitted panels or because a freezer door is always open, no matter how efficient your cooling system is, your energy bill won’t drop. And neither will the temperature,” he laughs.
Revisiting how the shape of a panel is related to its insulation value, Ward shows a ‘male-female’ panel system that ensures a seamless fit, preventing cold loss through gaps. “Back in the day, panels were made from polystyrene. The insulation wasn’t great. While many of these panels are still intact, they no longer meet today’s standards. It’s time to replace them. Several suppliers have brought far better-performing panels to the market in recent years. Quadcore is one example, offering improved fire safety and a higher Rc value. They’ve even managed to make the panels thinner without compromising insulation.”
“Many customers now ask for FSC-certified materials, which are key to boosting a building’s BREEAM-NL score,” he adds. “FM Approval certification is also becoming more important. Insurance companies increasingly require it. It guarantees that a product or assembly meets the highest safety and quality standards.”

Saving energy

BREEAM-NL has been the go-to certification method for sustainable buildings since 2009. It assesses the real environmental performance of a project, including energy use. And everything is connected. How much you save with a more efficient system depends on multiple factors: whether it runs on synthetic or natural refrigerants, the panel insulation, how well those panels are fitted, how often freezer or cooler doors open and close, and so on. “That’s why it absolutely makes sense for food companies to invest in energy efficiency and sustainable solutions, but you have to look at the full picture.” Arno says. “One example is heat recovery, which has gained a lot of ground in recent years. By reusing waste heat from your cooling system, you boost your factory’s overall efficiency. Increasingly, residual heat is being stored in containers combined with batteries. We work with ‘cascade systems’ at several client sites, usually a combination of an air-cooled heat pump and a water-cooled one. The first boosts the second to a higher temperature. These systems are scalable and help spread out power demand, keeping costs down.”

Ward Bliemer

Grid congestion

Talk about energy, and you can’t avoid the issue of grid congestion. “The pressure on energy availability is rising,” confirms Michel. “That directly affects how cooling and freezing systems are engineered, these are major power users in the food sector. This is a major challenge for the food industry: how do we make these systems more efficient and smartly configured? How can we buffer temperature and make use of the imbalance in the energy market? For instance, lower the freezer temperature just before peak demand, then temporarily switch off the system until power is available again.”
“I expect we’ll see food companies shifting production to nighttime hours,” Arno predicts. “Power is cheaper then, and it eases the burden on the grid during peak hours. Using ‘free cooling’ is another smart way to save costs and reduce environmental impact.”

Free cooling? Will it get complicated after all? Arno lights up at the question. “You achieve partial free cooling when the outdoor air temperature is 5°C below the process return temperature,” he explains enthusiastically. “For full free cooling, the outdoor air needs to be about 6°C below the process supply temperature. So if you need process water at 12°C, and your dry cooler is properly sized, you can use outside temperatures of 6 to 8°C. The bigger the difference, the more cooling power you get. By using lower outdoor temperatures to cool your process systems, companies can recover up to 80% of their process cooling energy costs, no extra electricity required. Free coolers are available as standalone units or integrated into process coolers. They can be retrofitted into an existing process or installed as part of a turnkey solution.”

“Smart tweaks can save a lot of energy. We really try to think along with the client,” says Ward. “If we spot design issues in the blueprints, we’ll say something. Clients appreciate our critical eye.” He recalls one project where a washroom was positioned right in front of a freezer. “Terrible idea. The moisture combined with the cold causes ice buildup and slippery floors. But placing a cooler in front of the freezer as a sort of airlock? That works great. The cold air escaping from the freezer helps cool the adjoining space.”

Grid congestion also causes headaches for Willemsen Isolatiebouw, though from a different angle than what Michel and Arno mentioned. “Countless construction projects face major delays because of it,” Ward says. “Entrepreneurs want to move forward. They think in solutions. Many are now turning to generators. I get it, but it’s unfortunate. Burning diesel or using gas-powered gensets isn’t sustainable. We urgently need a better solution.” Delays aren’t only caused by the energy grid. “Sometimes it takes forever to get the right permits. One day it’s a frog, the next it’s a bat or rare bird—and everything comes to a standstill. Thankfully, we also do a lot of renovations, which usually don’t require permits.”

Arno Eijkelboom

The willingness to invest

To meet strict standards, renovation, new construction, and system upgrades are more necessity than luxury. But how willing is the food sector to invest?
Arno: “Geopolitical tensions, wars, Trump’s import tariffs, climate change... these global developments heavily affect business operations across the world, including the food industry. Uncertainty is high. Companies are weighing their options carefully, especially when it comes to major equipment investments. Postponement is common.”
Ward agrees: “In addition, our government is unpredictable and doesn’t make decisions. They do change the rules, cancel subsidies, just like that. (Or a whole cabinet collapses the day after this interview, editor’s note.) We see, like Arno does, that companies postpone large investments. They try to stick it out as long as possible with what they have and essentially wait too long.”
Michel nods in agreement. He, too, recognizes this trend. “Family-run businesses are even more cautious than listed companies. Especially in the food sector there are still a lot of family businesses. They’re driven by passion more than shareholder returns, and are focused on making quality products. But eventually, even they need to upgrade their facilities. That’s why we offer models like ‘temperature as a service,’ advising them on flexible lease options.”
Arno: “Food safety is always a top priority; and cooling and freezing play a vital role. Clients expect proof that product temperatures are continuously monitored. So choosing whether or not to invest in this crucial aspect of your business becomes a matter of risk management.”

Innovations

When you talk about monitoring, you’re automatically talking about data. Thanks to modern sensors, remote readouts and online monitoring of systems and installations have become the norm. Increasingly, IoT, algorithms, and AI are being used to reduce and optimize energy use. “Connectivity is booming,” says Arno. “It won’t be long before AI becomes standard across entire operations. Our parent company Trane Technologies recently acquired Brainbox to better respond to the growing demand for data.” Veld Koeltechniek is also developing its own software to improve system analytics, energy processing, and enable predictive maintenance. “Preventive maintenance reduces breakdowns,” Michel explains. “We track system performance and energy use. This gives you greater production reliability and extends the lifespan of the installation. Food companies are usually fine with sharing this data with us, of course we ensure cybersecurity is rock solid.”
“That last part is crucial,” Arno emphasizes. “You don’t want someone hacking into your factory and changing machine settings.”

Capacity

All three agree: the biggest challenge in the coming years is finding enough qualified personnel. Michel: “We’re seeing the effects of an aging workforce all across Europe; including in system installation and maintenance. One of the solutions is more standardization. It leads to better, more sustainable products. An important factor to consider is the quality of service and maintenance; that’s easier and performed at a higher quality level with standardized installations. Reducing the total cost of ownership for clients.”

“We need to speed up. That should be a top priority for the entire food industry,” he concludes. “Regulations are shifting. Circularity is becoming more important. Not just for ideological reasons, but because raw materials are running out. There simply isn’t enough. Change starts with necessity. And that necessity is here. Right now.”