Climate-i is working to reduce the world’s most potent and fastest growing emissions: F-gases. We are starting by tackling emissions of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) from electricity grids.
We help electricity companies meet their regulatory targets and avoid fines by capturing fugitive SF6 emissions.
Our team is experienced in the development of hardware, sensors and IoT systems, allowing us to seamlessly integrate hardware and software as a service.
Fluorinated gases (F-gases) are a family of chemicals that include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3). They are synthetic and do not occur naturally in the environment in significant quantities.
Many HFCs were developed as refrigerants for air conditioning and refrigeration systems to replace ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) which are also F-gases. By contrast, SF6 is used primarily as an insulating gas in high-voltage electrical equipment while other F-gases have various industrial applications including in electronics and semiconductor manufacturing.
Unfortunately, F-gases often leak from the equipment they are used in. This is a problem because they are extremely potent greenhouse gases. SF6 has the highest global warming potential of all – over 24,000 times more warming than CO2. Their potency means that while F-gases are typically used in small quantities they make an outsize contribution to climate change, contributing around 5% of CO2 equivalent emissions each year, surpassing global aviation.
They are also growing faster than any other category of emissions.
Some F-gases, including most HFCs, are relatively short-lived once they are in the atmosphere, so curtailing their emissions can make a big difference to global warming within a short period of time. Others, like PFCs and SF6, last for thousands of years, so stopping emissions today reduces their impact far into the future.
In addition, some F-gases are classified as “PFAS”, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Due to their tendency to persist in the environment and accumulate in the human body and food chains, PFAS are also known as “forever chemcials” and have become a matter of global concern. You can read more about PFAS here.