ESPEC CORP. (Head Office: Kita-ku Osaka City, Representative Director and President: Satoshi Arata) has announced the availability of a lineup of environmental test chambers featuring innovative CO₂ refrigerant (R-744) cooling technology that complies with the EU F-Gas Regulation.

As part of efforts to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the European Union (EU) has strengthened the F-gas Regulation^*1, requiring a transition to refrigerants with lower environmental impact. Environmental test chambers are required to use refrigerants with a global warming potential (GWP)^*2 of less than 150.
The new lineup significantly reduces environmental impact by utilizing CO₂ refrigerant technology, achieving a GWP of just 1 compared with conventional models using R-449A (GWP 1,397). Combining environmental responsibility with advanced cooling technology, ESPEC delivers the high quality, reliability, and performance demanded by the EU market while meeting regulatory requirements.

Under its medium-term management plan, PROGRESSIVE PLUS 2027 (FY2025 to FY2027), ESPEC has positioned Europe as a market for capturing demand in advanced technology fields. ESPEC will continue to expand its product lineup, including environmentally conscious products, as it pursues further growth in the European market.

• *1 : F-gas Regulation: An EU regulation that provides for the phased reduction of F-gases (fluorinated greenhouse gases) and restricts the sale of equipment that uses F-gases.
• *2 : GWP: Global Warming Potential. This indicator uses carbon dioxide as a reference to express the degree to which other greenhouse gases affect global warming. A lower value indicates less environmental load.

• Platinous J Series Low Temperature (& Humidity) Chamber
• AR Series Environmental Stress Chamber

<Features>

1. CO₂ refrigerant R-744 (GWP 1) for compliance with the EU F-gas Regulation

2. Compliance with international test standards

Despite utilizing CO₂ refrigerant, the chambers provide temperature and humidity control performance equivalent to conventional models. The CO₂ models support major international test standards, including IEC 60068-2-30 and IEC 60068-2-38 for temperature and humidity cyclic testing, and IEC 60068-2-14 Test Nb for change of temperature testing.

3．Compliance with international safety standards

Comply with international safety and EMC standards, as well as the RoHS and pressure equipment directives.
• ISO 12100: Safety of machinery
• IEC 60204-1: Electrical equipment of machines
• IEC 61000-6-2, IEC 61000-6-4, EN 55011: Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)