The UK retailer Lidl uses eutectic plates to cool food at distribution centres to -24°C. The brine-filled plates may then be placed in insulated containers to preserve perishable foods during transportation without the need for additional refrigerants.
Spar Netherlands has converted its entire fleet to Thermo King’s cryotech refrigeration system which uses a liquid CO2 loop system to cool produce, reportedly reducing CO2e emissions by up to 90%. The Dutch retailer has achieved a 27% lower logistic carbon footprint and a total 13% lower logistic cost per year based on this technology.
In 2010, Shoprite became the first South African retailer to use nitrogen-based refrigeration in its transport fleet. The natureFridge systems use liquid nitrogen cooled to -196°C, before being dispersed evenly inside the trailer. One trailer can reportedly save up to 38 tonnes-CO2e tonnes per year.
As of 2014, Woolworths Holdings Ltd. had 4 of these vehicles in operation, with another one in the process of being built. The company reports savings of 3000 tonnes of CO2 per annum as a result of this transition.
Under the name ‘NaturaLINE’, Carrier Transicold (a division of Carrier) has developed the world’s first container refrigeration system using CO2 as the refrigerant. Working with the German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd Carrier has been testing its new system since 2010. Carrier aims for improved refrigeration performance and reduced power consumption.
The CO2 refrigeration system is one of the world’s first entirely naturally refrigerated trailers and is being trialled by Sainsbury’s since 2013. If rolled-out across it’s transportation fleet, Sainsbury’s estimates the Carrier NaturaLine system will reduce the company’s CO2e emissions by 70,000 tonnes each year.
The new NaturaLINE design has been engineered to deliver efficiencies equal to Carrier Transicold’s best-in-class performer, the PrimeLINE unit. By using CO2 as a natural refrigerant, the NaturaLINE design improves upon the PrimeLINE unit’s ability to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 28% compared to previous units.
The CO2 system is in use by shipping companies worldwide.
Johnson Controls Marine technology uses CO2‚ on the low-temperature side and ammonia on the high-temperature side to preserve perishable goods at sea. Freezing capacity is increased through the use of energy efficient compressors and frequency converters.
DSI designs and manufactures plate freezers for on-shore and marine installations for transporting and processing seafood. The company offers CO2 plate freezers for installation worldwide. Currently, the company has over 500 CO2 plate freezers in operation in Europe.
American Freedom, one of the world’s largest reefer ships, uses a cascade ammonia and CO2 refrigeration system, helping to generate a cooling output of 4,500kW. The cascade system is able to process around 400 tons of fish per day, storing catch in the hull of the ship where there are 36 vertical plate freezers in operation.
With operations in Scandinavia and the Baltic region, AGA provides both direct and indirect cooling systems. The flexibility of these systems offers the possibility to either cool trailers in total or trailers separated into different chambers or trolleys. The systems can use dry ice and carbon dioxide to refrigerate dairy, meat, frozen and other perishable food products during transportation. Carbon dioxide cools the air in the vehicle via a heat exchanger and is then vented out through the top of the car. The system will use the warmed cooling water from the car engine to maintain the prescribed temperature in the chamber if needed. The system offers full control of temperature conditions and is free of noise.
