CALUMET, Mich. -- The Chemours Company partnered with the NHL to provide Calumet Colosseum a new refrigerant system that will help provide a more sustainable, cost-effective solution for the rink.
Through the NHL Greener Rinks Initiative, the NHL aspires to help rink owners and operators make sustainable business decisions for their aging community rinks. Doing so may help more rinks stay operational in the long term, ultimately leaving hockey a more enjoyable family experience for generations to come.
"Chemours is proud to support community rinks across North America, providing a cost-effective, safe, and sustainable solution for community rinks," Derek Ramsay, business development leader with Chemours, said.
This was done using Opteon™, the official refrigerant solution of the NHL and a sustainable refrigerant alternative for ice refrigeration chiller systems. After doing their diligence on multiple refrigerant systems, Calumet Colosseum decided that the Opteon™ line of hydrofluoroolefin (HFO)-based refrigerants was the best option for their chiller retrofit because it offered a safe, reliable and cost-effective solution for their rink and community.
Calumet Colosseum, the site of the Kraft Hockeyville USA 2019 game between the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN), is among numerous rinks across North America that are prioritizing the balance of safety and cost while meeting system efficiency and environmental sustainability considerations. By using Chemours, the community will ensure that the rink, which was built in 1913, continues to flourish well into the future.
"In the situations we run into, Opteon™ is almost always the best from an efficiency and an environmental standpoint," said Justin Zembo from St Cloud Refrigeration, the local mechanical contractor.
It is estimated that by the end of 2019, the replacement of legacy mobile and stationary refrigerants with HFO technology like Opteon™ will have resulted in a reduction of nearly 68 million tons of carbon dioxide, an equivalent to taking approximately 15 million cars off the road.
