Founded in Karlsruhe on 20 September 1957, the Research Council for Refrigeration Technology became a member of the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations ( AiF) on 26 February 1959. At this point in time, the Chairman of the Research Council for Refrigeration Technology was Professor Rudolf Plank.

Acquiring membership of the AiF laid the foundations for the Council's successful collaborative research. The aim is to uphold the continuity of collaborative industrial research through perpetual AiF funding.

The Council promotes technical and scientific research into refrigeration and heat pump technology, examining the corresponding impacts on practical applications.  The main research focus concentrates on technologies for generating and using refrigeration in air-conditioning systems for buildings, commercial and industrial refrigeration, transport (refrigeration and air-conditioning) and domestic refrigeration together with heat pumps and cryogenics. Research on these topics is organised as collaborative industrial research. Every member company has the possibility of submitting proposals for a specific research project. The advisory board of the Research Council is responsible for implementing the proposals. It is also responsible for manning the committees that accompany a project during the various processes.

The Council has regular and associate members. Regular members are representatives from industry working in the field of refrigeration technology. Associate members consist of research institutes and branch associations. For a list of regular and associate members, please click here.