SCIENTISTS and industry leaders from 61 countries are arriving in Beijing to attend the 22nd International Congress of Refrigeration, this week.
Named 'Refrigeration creates the future', the International Congress of Refrigeration aka ICR 2007, runs from August 21-26 and is designed to promote knowledge of new refrigeration technologies.

Organized by the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) once every four years, the conference is being held in a developing country for the first time.

The event will focus on environmental protection in the refrigeration industry and officially kicks off with an opening ceremony this Wednesday (August 22).

Speakers include Rajendra Shende, the head of OzonAction, part of the United Nations Environment Programme. He will deliver a talk entitled 'From Montreal to Kyoto- the refrigeration industry's journey towards sustainability'.

Robert Wilkins, the chairman of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry (ARI) will present a talk called 'Providing the technology of the future'.

There will be ten technical sessions at the conference on subjects as wide-ranging as the 'Preservation, transportation, storage and display of food following harvest' and 'Cryomedicine and cryobiology'.

On Thursday, August 23, Robert Heap, president of Cambridge Refrigeration Technology, will present his talk on refrigeration and food safety. Professor Bingfeng Yu from Jiaotong University will deliver his speech on the subject of 'Air conditioning, indoor climate control and human comfort'.

On Friday, August 24, technical tours will include visits to the Danfoss Wuqing factory and the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning research center of Tianjin University of Commerce.

Next Saturday, (August 25) visitors can attend more technical sessions and choose from six short courses, before the conference draws to a close on Sunday.