As laboratories face mounting pressure to cut energy use, reduce emissions, and prepare for tightening global refrigerant regulations, Hamilton Storage, a leader in automated cold storage and sample management with locations in Franklin, Massachusetts, USA, and Domat/Ems, Switzerland, today announced that all of its automated storage systems are now available with 100% natural, green refrigerants.
The full transition reinforces Hamilton’s commitment to sustainable innovation and helps customers reduce energy consumption, support ESG goals, and future-proof operations – without sacrificing sample integrity or system performance.
To support this announcement, Hamilton has launched a new awareness initiative, Choose Green. Choose Hamilton., highlighting the role customers can play in making environmentally responsible technology choices.
Enabling Customers to Meet Sustainability Goals
Laboratories can be highly resource-intensive spaces. A typical lab can consume up to 10 times more energy per square foot than a standard office building, driven largely by specialized equipment and stringent temperature control requirements. Cold storage and ultra‑low temperature systems are central to that challenge.
Hamilton’s full transition to green refrigerants—including natural hydrocarbons such as propane (R‑290), ethane (R‑170), and carbon dioxide (R‑744)—addresses this issue head‑on. These refrigerants have zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and negligible global warming potential (GWP), providing measurable environmental benefits compared to traditional hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants. Natural refrigerants are widely recognized for their safety and efficiency in scientific applications.
Most importantly, the change enables Hamilton’s customers to make tangible progress against their own sustainability commitments.
“Our customers are under increasing pressure—from regulators, investors, and their own organizations—to reduce emissions and energy use,” said Matt Hamilton, CEO of Hamilton Storage. “By transitioning our full automated storage portfolio to green refrigerants, we’re enabling laboratories and biobanks to choose technology that supports scientific discovery and environmental responsibility at the same time. This initiative reflects Hamilton’s commitment to shaping a sustainable future for the life science industry.”
Proven Impact at Scale
Hamilton’s automated BiOS system demonstrates the real‑world impact of combining automation with green refrigeration. Today, BiOS installations worldwide have replaced an estimated 3,000 manual ultra‑low temperature freezers. By doing so, these BiOS systems have enabled biorepositories to use up to 75% less power compared with traditional manual freezer environments, dramatically reducing energy consumption and laboratory footprints.
This level of efficiency allows customers to cut operating costs, improve reliability, and future‑proof their facilities, while maintaining full confidence in sample integrity and system performance.
Designed to Make a Difference
Hamilton’s entire Verso line now uses natural refrigerants. With this pivotal achievement, the systems now deliver up to 20% energy savings, and offer a CO2 emissions equivalent savings of thousands of times less compared to those operating with traditional coolants.
Users benefit from a noticeably quieter operation, improved temperature stability, and simplified maintenance—along with many additional enhancements. “We have invested in the most advanced technology, and this full switch to green coolants across our product line is a landmark achievement in the history of automated storage systems,” said Dieter Neuschütz, Vice President of Hamilton Storage in Switzerland.
Leadership Today, Readiness for Tomorrow
Global regulations are accelerating the phasedown of high‑GWP refrigerants, including mandates under the U.S. AIM Act and the European Union’s revised F‑Gas Regulation. Hamilton’s full transition to green refrigerants positions customers ahead of these changes, helping them avoid future compliance risks and potential cost increases associated with servicing legacy systems.
“With Choose Green. Choose Hamilton., we are setting a new standard in sustainable automated cold storage,” added John Genereux, Vice President and General Manager of Hamilton Storage in the USA. “We are committed to designing technologies that protect samples and the world they come from.”