Interview with Jang Jae-hoon, President of Carbon Neutrality & Environmental Business Division, Korean Testing Certification Institute (KTC)
Refrigerant recovery is the first gateway to comprehensive refrigerant lifecycle management. No matter how advanced low-GWP substance conversion or regeneration and destruction technologies become, without collecting refrigerants on-site, quality testing and regeneration are impossible. Nevertheless, the recovery stage had been relatively neglected.
The national R&D project, “Development of High-Efficiency Refrigerant Recovery and Recycling Devices with Embedded ICT Features,” was launched in April and aims to systematize recovery machines from small to large scales, refining technologies, measurement devices, RIMS (Refrigerant Information Management System) linkage software, certification standards, and management regulations into a single framework.
President Jang Jae-hoon of the Carbon Neutrality & Environmental Business Division at the Korean Testing Certification Institute (KTC), who oversees this project, shared its background, research, and future plans.
The Carbon Neutrality & Environmental Business Division is a professional organization connecting the national greenhouse gas inventory, NDC, carbon neutrality policy and systems, R&D, testing and analysis, certification and validation, and industrial application in an integrated manner.
In the refrigerant field, we are linking initiatives such as national HFCs emission estimation and reduction model development, pilot projects for comprehensive refrigerant lifecycle management, development of high-efficiency recovery technologies, and recycled refrigerant quality assessment. A gas testing laboratory has also been established and is operated for high-precision analysis of the composition, moisture, high-boiling residue, and non-condensable gases in recovered and recycled refrigerants.
In the second half of this year, KTC plans to expand the KOLAS internationally accredited testing scope to cover all items related to refrigerant quality for the first time in Korea, and to obtain the AHRI Certified® Refrigerant Testing Laboratory (RTL) accreditation, also for the first time domestically.
The current project was planned to implement the “HFCs Management System Improvement Plan,” announced in December 2024 by government agencies. The government expanded HFCs subjects in the national greenhouse gas inventory from 2 to 29 species and analyzed that HFCs emissions may increase by 2034 due to existing equipment refrigerants and maintenance demand.
Therefore, to reduce national HFCs emissions by approximately 20 million tons CO₂eq by 2035, we are promoting low-GWP conversion, comprehensive refrigerant lifecycle management systems, and legal and regulatory foundations.
During this process, insufficient investment in the recovery and regeneration sector was identified, which led to the derivation of three core projects: high-efficiency recovery technology, regeneration and destruction technology for mixed waste refrigerants, and low-GWP substance conversion technologies.
Recovery is the entry point for lifecycle management, and accurate emission reduction estimation requires precise recovery data. The main on-site challenges are the slowdown of recovery speed in the later phase and increased labor costs. While liquid refrigerants are collected quickly at first, recovery slows down significantly when system pressure drops and the refrigerant turns gaseous, leading to longer working hours and greater labor costs.
From April 2026 to December 2028, this 33-month project will invest 8.1 billion KRW in government R&D funding to develop four levels of recovery machines (small, semi-medium, medium, and large), pre-processing/refining technologies, measurement devices, a mobile application, RIMS integration technologies, and certification standards. A total of 72 devices (50 semi-medium, 20 medium, 2 large) will be supplied for field verification.
As a public utilization project, research outcomes and patents will belong to the government and Korea Environment Corporation, and 77 free technology transfers are planned for use by recovery companies and the related industry.
As the main research institution, KTC integrates recovery units, pre-processing/refining, measurement, ICT software, performance evaluation, standards, certification, and RIMS-linked management into a single operational system. The consortium is divided by specialization: Kinet is responsible for device design and manufacturing, the Korea Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Testing Research Institute develops ISO11650-based performance evaluation methods and standards/certifications, and Endirection is tasked with identifying demonstration sites and gathering user feedback.
Yearly goals are as follows: in the first year (2026), finalize the basic design; in the second year (2027), produce prototypes in four categories and verify integrated performance, also test data transmission in the pre-linked RIMS environment; in the third year (2028), validate 72 field devices and finalize performance certification standards, national standards, and revised management plans.
As the lead, the main focuses are field usability and institutional applicability. Connecting equipment should allow automatic recovery data logging and generation of regulatory reports, and policy requirements have been included in technical specifications since the research stage.
Key differentiators from previous R&D are that the project simultaneously handles device performance, refrigerant quality, onsite data, performance certification, regulatory management, and dissemination. The design expands the channel diameter to 3/8 inch to reduce pressure loss and maintain differential pressure until the end of the recovery. The system automatically switches between liquid, vapor, and push-pull modes based on the refrigerant state. The target is over 99.5% recovery rate and at least 10% improvement in speed compared to current equipment.
ICT is the core technology that makes the recovery device a field verification system. Pressure, temperature, weight, and work information are collected and sent automatically to RIMS, enabling time series data analysis for abnormal patterns or device degradation. Demonstration of 72 devices, 77 free technology transfers, and developing application models for Paris Agreement Article 6 international reduction projects and Green ODA are also distinct public-oriented benefits.
The current refrigerant recovery market in Korea is entering a growth phase as regulations expand. As of early July 2026, there are 862 registered recovery companies but only 5 certified waste gas processors, resulting in scattered recovery but concentrated processing infrastructure. Many companies are SMEs engaged in HVAC installation and maintenance, with varying capabilities, and comprehensive market criteria are still forming.
The major issue is the lack of direct linkage between raw field data and post-incident reporting. Without records of pressure, temperature, weight, and their changes during operation, it is difficult for third parties to verify recovery amounts or completeness. The cost of recovery is also a challenge, with contract cases not always itemizing recovery fees and field costs varying by difficulty.
The market is expected to evolve into a professional market that assesses not just the number of companies and amount reported, but also recovery speed, completeness, data reliability, refrigerant quality, and disposal paths.
For data reliability, this project enables automatic, synchronized recording of pressure, temperature, weight, work time, user, and equipment/container information. Users confirm and send results on site, applying authentication and change logs to ensure traceability. In areas with poor communication, data are stored and synchronized upon restoration.
With this system, reliability shifts from being based on personal memory and post-fact recording to verifiable, full-process records. Physical consistency between recovered amounts, pressure, and temperature changes can be checked, and omissions, duplications, or abnormal patterns automatically identified, reducing paperwork for field staff and providing the government with reliable activity records. However, ICT data only screen for recovery status and anomalies; chemical quality must still be verified via an accredited lab.
The most widely used devices are expected to be the portable ICT measurement set and the semi-medium recovery machine, for use in system air conditioners, small showcases, and storage. The semi-medium (10–50 kg) model is designed for easy transport in a 1-ton truck or van, or by cart.
The medium (50–200 kg) model targets recycling centers and scrapyards with high repeat operations, and the large (>200 kg) model is vehicle-mounted for large centers, cold storages, and factories. In terms of frequency and users, portable and semi-medium types will predominate, while medium and large models will contribute significantly to per-task recovery amounts and emission reductions.
Product development is informed by extensive interviews, surveys, and field studies from the first year, focusing on actual workflow and ease of use, including portability, intuitive interfaces, compatibility, and cost considerations. The ICT set is also designed to connect with existing small devices for accessibility.
Particular focus is on sites with 3–20RT equipment, where demand will expand. Feedback from 72 demonstration sites in 2028 will shape final designs and later distribution models, including public procurement, leasing, and policy financing, in collaboration with government and Korea Environment Corporation.
KTC conducts both the Environment Corporation’s demonstration project and this R&D in parallel, ensuring a synergy between policy pilot implementation and next-generation technical solutions. Field issues can be swiftly incorporated into development, and outcomes fed back into regulations.
Merged ICT-RIMS integration will directly connect recovery work and administrative reporting into a unified data flow, automating report generation, reducing input errors, and enabling precise verification of records and performance at all levels. This will ground national greenhouse gas inventories and NDC evaluations in reliable data, while raising Korea's profile in international reporting under the Paris Agreement transparency framework. RIMS is expected to develop into an analytical platform for lifecycle management and policy-effectiveness assessment.
A recovery business grading system is also targeted, comprehensively evaluating device holding, technical personnel, safety management, operation results, and ICT data submission. This will add transparency and competitiveness to the market, with support measures such as grace periods, phased introductions, equipment and training aid, sharing and leasing, and routes for existing companies to upgrade grades. Self-use (repeated-use) facilities and safety measures for growing A2L refrigerants will be further considered.
The mid-to-long-term goal is to establish a Korean-style refrigerant lifecycle management model connecting recovery, regeneration, reuse, proper disposal, and trustable data—the ‘K-4R+ Strategy.’ KTC envisions industrial productivity increases for technician and service markets, localization and supply chain stability, and permanent reduction effects through linkage of performance certification, grading, RIMS reporting, and quality testing. Internationally, the package model will be used for Green ODA and Article 6 collaboration, aiding partner emission reductions and supporting Korean businesses’ overseas expansion.
KTC aims to raise refrigerant quality testing to world-class, internationally accredited levels, with ongoing expansion of KOLAS recognition and pursuit of AHRI RTL accreditation. We will advance modeling for national HFC reduction, link datasets across manufacturing, installation, operation, and disposal, and apply ICT-driven data to fair compensation estimation. Research will continue on low-GWP refrigerants and heat pumps, and in the long run, we will develop the ‘Korean Refrigerant Lifecycle Management System’ as a benchmark for international cooperation.
Lastly, refrigerant management policy succeeds only in the hands of on-site technicians. Their ability to work safely and efficiently, with fair compensation and reduced administrative burden, ultimately drives higher recovery rates.
KTC will work closely with the Ministry of Climate and Environment, Korea Environment Corporation, HVAC industry, refrigerant producers/importers/recoverers/regenerators/destructors, and listen attentively to field voices. We will responsibly ensure the adoption and dissemination of technologies developed with public resources, through testing, standardization, and technology transfer, hoping that this project will establish Korea's lifecycle management system as a global model.
