The Life Icegreen project: let’s give a green turn to the ice cream sector

The Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE) has published on its website the Nemox International project called Icegreen, here in Italian, electing it LIFE project of the month. Not all projects co-financed by the European Union can aspire to this important acknowledgment which is granted only to the ones of particular interest for the environment and above all which have come to fruition, bringing actual benefits for the users of the developed products.

Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants are used in a wide variety of refrigeration equipment, both domestic and industrial, for food production or food storage. However, they have a high Global Warming Potential (GWP) factor. The European Parliament and the Council have decreed that, starting from 2022, HFCs must be progressively replaced by gases with a GWP of less than 150 units.

The challenge of the Life Icegreen project, co-financed by the European Commission under the Life 2014-2020 Program, was to industrialize a new generation of ice cream machines running on propane (R290), a gas with a GWP of 3 e which therefore represents the best alternative available for small hermetic systems.

The project, carried out by Nemox International, a primary manufacturer in the production of gelato, sorbet, ice cream machines for the professional HoReCa market and leading manufacturer of gelato machine for home use, ended in 2021 and successfully anticipated and satisfied the “F-gas” legislation, introducing ecological and innovative machines onto the market and promoting effective climate protection actions in the interests of producers and consumers.