Wren visits our Refrigerant Destruction project partner

Just the gist

Short on time? Here’s what you need to know for this update:

• ✈️ Wren visited a project site! — Some of our team members visited A-Gas in Bowling Green, Ohio for an on-the-ground look at the project progress, including seeing the refrigerant destruction process first-hand.
• 💌 A warm welcome from A-Gas —Leaders from our new Refrigerant Destruction partner have a message for Wren subscribers, celebrating how you are helping to destroying gases 1700x more harmful than CO₂.

For more project updates, follow Wren on Twitter and Instagram.

Our visit to A-Gas!

At Wren, we're focused on finding the highest quality, most transparent projects, so we can make sure each member has as much impact as possible.

That's why Landon, Ben, and Sophie recently visited Bowling Green, Ohio to see first-hand what A-Gas has been working on. It was a great opportunity for the Wren team to learn more about A-Gas’ work, the difference it makes, and the team behind it all.

Here’s an inside scoop from Sophie, our climate portfolio manager:

“One highlight was getting to sit in on the third-party verification process. A specialist from First Environment, Inc. went through every detail with scrutiny to ensure that A-Gas’ benefit claims are accurate. How detailed is this process? We watched the verifier lay on his stomach to inspect the scale that was used to weigh the gas that was destroyed! He even took down the serial number of the scale to check with its manufacturer when it was most recently calibrated. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We sat in on detailed discussions with various technicians and engineers and learned how they measure the flow of gas into the PyroPlas® machine and the frequency of that data collection process - every five minutes!

We were impressed with the rigor in which this project is evaluated.

Another fun fact we uncovered during our visit: the byproduct of the destruction is salt water, which is fed back into the local water system. This is actually beneficial for Bowling Green’s water supply because of the high prevalence of agriculture in the area that relies on pesticides. The salt water helps to balance the pH of local water supply, benefiting the town.

The cherry on top was the opportunity to chat in detail with the President of A-Gas’ Americas region and Vice President of Fire Protection and Environmental Services about the environmental impact the company hopes to achieve. We’re now more confident than ever that A-Gas carries out its operations with the highest level of integrity. We look forward to sponsoring more projects with A-Gas in the future!”

A note from Landon, CEO and co-founder of Wren:

“The most unique thing about A-Gas’ facility, and what made this project technically possible, is the PyroPlas®. This hulking machine uses A-Gas’ patented refrigerant destruction technology to safely and cleanly destroy over 99.9999% of the gas that runs through the system. The machine works by heating the refrigerant chemicals to an extremely high temperature where they break down, leaving nothing but a bit of saltwater and CO₂ as residue (and in this case, the CO₂ is a good thing—the original refrigerant causes 1700x more warming than CO₂, so the leftover emissions are tiny).

Seeing the PyroPlas® in action was not as eye-catching as I first hoped (unfortunately despite the heat no explosion, laser, or lightning is visible from the outside) but it was inspiring to see this new technology being used to cut emissions in real time.

Properly collecting and destroying refrigerants could reduce global emissions by billions of tons in the coming decades, and we’re excited to partner with A-Gas to make progress as fast as we can.”

And from Ben, Co-Founder, Product & Design at Wren:

"Our visit to A-Gas' facility in Ohio was invaluable. Actually seeing and touching the machinery that destroyed refrigerants paid for by Wren members was an amazing experience. We also got to record loads of footage, with the goal of recreating for Wren members the feeling of being there.”

We're excited to share more details about our trip and the inspiring work being done by A-Gas. Keep an eye out for more updates on our new YouTube channel, where we'll be sharing exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the A-Gas team. Don't miss out – if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to our channel to stay in the loop and be a part of our journey towards a more sustainable future!

A warm welcome from A-Gas

Our newest Refrigerant Destruction partner, A-Gas, is helping to phase out HCFC-22 refrigerants and accelerate the use of more environmentally friendly replacements.

Project Drawdown ranks refrigerant management and climate-friendly refrigerants as some of the top solutions to halt and reverse climate change, which is one of the reasons we’re so excited about this project.

Here’s what A-Gas wants Wren subscribers to know:

Dear Wren environmental stewards,

First and foremost, we want to applaud you for your commitment to protecting and enhancing the environment. Like you, we at A-Gas have been working hard to build a more sustainable future for over thirty years. Our driving purpose is to manage the lifecycle of refrigerants and associated products effectively and responsibly, and we’re thrilled you’re joining us in our fight for a better tomorrow.

People across the world encounter refrigerant products every day, often without realizing it. When they open their fridges or freezers at home or grocery stores, cool their homes or cars, or even use an inhaler, they use refrigerant gas. In our modern world, we cannot live without them. But our modern world also cannot continue if we do not manage these Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS) or high Global Warming Potential (GWP) products from initial production through re-processing and re-use all the way to environmentally friendly destruction when they reach the end of their useful life.

That’s why we’re so excited that you are helping us with a destruction project through Wren. The project you are funding primarily destroys HCFC-22. For a long time, HCFC-22 was the dominant refrigerant in residential and commercial air conditioning, some very large centrifugal chillers for air conditioning and industrial process cooling, commercial refrigeration, and auto air conditioners. We’ve recovered this gas in all those places and have also found ODS material in old and damaged cylinders. Unfortunately, all those vessels can leak—accidentally or otherwise—with significant environmental risk. Today, HCFC-22 can no longer be produced or imported into the US, but millions of pounds of the gas are still in use. Furthermore, thousands of systems around the country still use it which creates a risk of the gas leaking into the atmosphere every day.

On a 100-year scale, one pound of HCFC-22 is almost 2,000 times more potent than one ton of carbon dioxide. More importantly, this refrigerant is considered a short-lived climate forcer; over 20 years, it is 5,000 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide! Eliminating this gas through destruction has a massive climate impact and can buy precious time as we strive to limit global warming to 1.5C. Your support drives this impact. HCFC-22 is also an ODS, so you’re also contributing to the repair of the ozone layer through elimination of the emissions resulting from the use of the gas. Through this project, each of you is permanently and directly making a positive difference in the world because from the moment those ODS molecules are destroyed, the environment reaps benefits.

With this destruction project, we’re taking ODS material we have recovered in the US and destroying it in our A-Gas PyroPlas® technology that we own and operate in Bowling Green, Ohio. Our UN-approved, TEAP-certified plasma arc destruction units utilize advanced pyrolysis technology to deliver the industry’s highest guaranteed destruction efficiency (99.9999%). Unlike other technologies, the PyroPlas® has de minimis emissions and no adverse environmental impacts, and it is the only plasma arc destruction technology in the US that is approved for the generation of carbon offsets.

At the end of this ODS destruction project, we will have created over 16,000 metric tons of emission reductions. That impact is equivalent to the emissions that would result from driving 3,500 cars for a year or burning over 17 million pounds of coal! We know that together, we can build a more sustainable future, especially with organizations like Wren that make it easier for individuals to take climate action. We look forward to continued collaboration with Wren and, with your support, to driving massive climate impact in the years to come.

Together We Can,

That's all for this update! As always, thank you for your support.
— the Wren team 🧡