TORINO, Italy - Tecumseh Products Co., like many major companies that often display their environmentally progressive products at Olympic venues, will be showcasing its new generation of CO2 (R-744 designated) compressors at the upcoming Olympics.

"Global consumers of refrigeration technology, like the major beverage and food service companies, are keen to be green", commented Bill Merritt, global vice president for commercial refrigeration. "Tecumseh led the industry with R-134a and earned one of the earliest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awards for stratospheric ozone protection. We followed that effort up by introducing HC (R-290 designated) technology at the 2002 summer games in Athens, and we're proud to be at the 2006 winter games as one of the first manufacturers with field-proven CO2 technology."

While HCFC and HFC class refrigerants are much less reactive with the ozone than the older CFC products, they do not achieve zero ozone depletion, says Tecumseh. CO2 provides for a non-chlorine, non-fluorine bearing refrigerant.