New Zealand’s first National Refrigerant Destruction Facility will open today in Kawerau.

The Paora Street facility in will be opened by Minister of Conservation Tama Potaka.

The $10 million state-of-the art plant is the first of its type in the Southern Hemisphere and enables New Zealand, for the first time, to destroy harmful refrigerants at their end-of-life safely and responsibly onshore.

It uses temperatures of up to 5000°C to permanently destroy some of the most potent greenhouse gases, including CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs, from synthetic refrigerants in New Zealand.

Also known as F-gases, these are extremely powerful climate agents, with global warming factors of up to 15,000 times CO2.

The gases are widely used in heat pumps, home and commercial cooling systems, healthcare, supermarkets and foodservice, logistics and cold chains.

The opening will bring together key stakeholders from local and regional councils, environmental and business sectors, and the Kawerau community.