WARRENDALE, Pa., Nov. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to a recent press statement (German, English translation via Microsoft® Translator) from Germany that "CO2 is the right refrigerant," SAE International President Frank O. Klegon invites all automobile manufacturers to join in an industry collaborative effort to fully evaluate the technical aspects of the use of CO2 as an automotive air conditioning refrigerant.

SAE International has unquestioned expertise in the research, analysis and application of a variety of automotive refrigerants. In the last decade, more than 10 major SAE Cooperative Research Program (CRP) projects have provided forums for subject matter experts from around the industry to meet, discuss and agree on advantages and disadvantages of various alternative refrigerants, as well as the management of accompanying risks.

Mr. Klegon said, "The implementation of CO2 as an automotive refrigerant is not without technical challenges." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published its concerns regarding the use of CO2 as a mobile air conditioning refrigerant for passenger cars. The full EPA report can be accessed by clicking here.

OEMs wishing to join the technical collaboration to form a new SAE CRP to further investigate CO2 should contact Gary Pollak at +1-724-772-7196 or email gary@sae.org.

SAE International is a global association of more than 133,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development. SAE International's charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™.

Contact: Shawn Andreassi, SAE International, via pr@sae.org or 1-724-772-8522

SOURCE SAE International