The IIR Rankine 2020 Conference – Advances in Cooling, Heating and Power Generation is timed to coincide with the bi-centenary of the birth of William Rankine, a Victorian pioneer in thermodynamics. The conference will celebrate Rankine’s ground-breaking research which led to the development of the power generation cycle, alongside an exploration of modern engineering technology. 

Star is proud to be a Silver Sponsor of the Rankine 2020 Conference, with several key team members presenting technical papers and hosting online discussion sessions. Star’s Andy Pearson will be acting as Chair for the event, leading a series of lectures exploring Rankine’s legacy, as well as introducing keynote speakers. 

Star Refrigeration Group managing director Andy Pearson said: “The Rankine 2020 conference will unite experts in the Organic Rankine Cycle with those in the cooling industry to discuss common challenges and solutions. This will create a unique forum for discussion and I believe that we have a lot to learn from each other.” 

He added: “The conference will begin with a celebration of Rankine’s legacy and a demonstration of how his work has helped shape the modern world. Rankine was the first President of the Institution of Engineers in Scotland and I am honoured to be taking up that role in September this year.” 

The five-day webinar programme features the latest research and developments in the closely-related fields of power cycles, working fluids and RACHP applications. Conference delegates will take away insights into new opportunities to deliver energy efficient, sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions. 

On the final day of the conference, Mr Pearson will present a paper on ‘Predicting and Assessing Energy Performance of Refrigeration Systems.’  During the event Star’s Rob Lamb will lead a discussion session on ‘Addressing Global Climate Change’ and Dave Pearson, Group Sustainable Development Director, will co-host a discussion on ‘Influencing Policy Makers in Heating and Cooling.’ 

Other speakers from Star include Stuart Webb (‘Carbon Dioxide in Industrial Refrigeration’), Martin Jack (‘Design Options for Increasing the Efficiency of an R717 Heat Pump’), Ciaran Dowling (‘Determining the Optimum Condenser Fan Speed for Refrigeration Systems’) and Gavin Oliver (‘Comparison of Low GWP/ODP Systems’).