R744 making inroads in Europe, Australia, and beyond

As energy efficiency and emissions reductions are moving up the list of environmental priorities of national governments and international institutions, more supermarkets discover CO₂ as a future-proof refrigerant solution. This overview talks about training tools and stores in Europe, South Africa, as well as three new installations in Australia.

Europe

In Germany as of January 2010, all new stores of the German food retailer Aldi Süd will be equipped with CO₂OLtecTM transcritical CO₂ refrigeration systems by Carrier Commercial Refrigeration. This same refrigeration system helped Europe’s 3rd largest food trader REWE to win the gold award from the German Society for Sustainable Buildings (DGNB). The REWE Berlin Rudow green building store is the first supermarket to ever get this certification. REWE had already announced in 2007 its intentions to use R134a/R744 cascade systems for all city supermarkets in Germany and has chosen CO₂ as key pillar of its new environmental building and furnishing standards.

Supermarkets in other European countries follow the trend. In Switzerland, COOP in collaboration with Swiss R744 expert Frigo-Consulting AG has defined a new sustainable standard concept for its refrigeration systems where CO₂ is the refrigerant of choice for low and medium temperature applications.

While the debate about the energy efficiency of CO₂-only systems in warmer climates continues, European suppliers now consider CO₂ cascade systems a standard solution to spread quickly. A new simulation tool unveiled by the Danish research institue IPU just recently provides engineers with a complex calculation method tracking the efficiency of R744 systems in different climates. R744.com will soon follow up with more information about “Pack Calculation”.

The free e-learning module and the most comprehensive R744 manual developed by the Catholic University College Limburg unveiled at last year’s “Atmosphere” conference in Brussels, meanwhile, enables less experienced and trained engineers to update their knowledge on CO₂ refrigeration.

Exporting CO₂ expertise

The most advanced are once more Europe’s northern countries. The political commitment to a gradual phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons and resulting environmental legislation in Denmark and Sweden have rendered the actual use of HFC applications and the replenishing of the substance very expensive. Industry in consequence has turned forcefully to natural refrigerants and has come up with viable solutions. These solutions proof to be so successful that Danish and Swedish manufacturers of cooling systems, including Advansor (DK) and Green&Cool (SE), are now exporting their expertise via joint ventures with manufacturers and suppliers, as currently happening in the UK.

And it spreads: The Italien cabon dioxide refrigeration company Enex and the Finish manufacturer of CO₂-based refrigeration systems Huurre have just formed a joint venture called Huurre ECO which is intended to create a new force in environmentally friendly refrigeration.

Australia

The trend is not limited to Europe. Australia saw the first CO₂-only refrigeration installation in the independent Drakes supermarket in Angle Vale two years ago. And the subtle conquest by natural refrigerants continues with three supermarkets in West Australia recently converting to carbon dioxide refrigerant systems. The Supa IGA Lynwood supermarkets follow with this initiative the example of larger supermarket chains in Eastern Australia. The conversion to CO₂-based refrigeration helps supermarkets to reduce their carbon footprint and protects them from a potential future carbon taxation. The Australian example emphasise again that a clear political statement against HFCs is a strong driver for the uptake of natural refrigerants.

South Africa

And the world tour continues: in 2009, Woolworth one of South Africa`s leading food retail groups converted its Grey Owl store in Midrand to CO₂ refrigeration. The refrigeration engineers at Commercial Refrigeration Services (CRS) that developed the CO₂ system had visited different countries advanced in CO₂ refrigeration technologies. Especially Australia served as illustrative example as the CO₂-refrigerated supermarket was not only the first in the country, but the first in the southern hemisphere and a warm climate to put natural refrigerants into action.

May the conquest of natural refrigerants continue.