Message from the Director

Welcome to the Global Cooling Efficiency Program (GCEP)!

The need for cooling is estimated to grow over three-fold by 2050, driven mainly by growth in rapidly urbanizing emerging economies with hot climates. Cooling is both a driver of growing greenhouse gas emissions (directly through refrigerant emissions and indirectly from energy consumption) and a way to build resilience against heat waves that are increasingly frequent due to climate change. This growing need and associated impacts are lending an urgency to our Program’s mission which is to ensure that cooling needs around the globe are met affordably, equitably, and sustainably.

I am proud to direct our Global Cooling Efficiency Program (GCEP) team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, “bringing science solutions to the world” to address the many challenges which intersect with the growing need for cooling, such as climate change, air and water pollution, food loss, public health impacts (zoonotic disease origination, airborne disease transmission and vaccine distribution) and destruction of the ozone layer. 

At the GCEP, we combine theory, computer modeling and experimental research with real life engineering to develop high efficiency cooling equipment and to reduce the environmental impact of the refrigerants used. Specifically, we focus on research areas that are critical to sustainability of cooling systems such as: efficiency increase via equipment design improvements; changes in manufacturing lines to optimize costs of efficiency improvement; circular cooling and its impact on recovery and recycling of refrigerants and other valuable materials; and next generation cooling technologies. We aim to deliver sustainable and affordable cooling while ensuring essential cooling services, such as thermal comfort, fresh food and equitable vaccine distribution are within reach for all. We collaborate extensively with a wide range of international organizations and institutions to better understand the challenges facing industry and identify bottlenecks to the transition to high-efficiency and low GWP refrigerant cooling equipment.

Please visit us here often to learn about our latest news and events, as we work to inform the debates about addressing cooling needs efficiently, affordably and in harmony with the planet.

Best Regards,

Nihar Shah, PhD., PE
Presidential Director, Global Cooling Efficiency Program
Deputy Head, International Energy Analysis Department