Danish manufacturer Danfoss has broken ground on a new “smart” CO2 (R744) refrigeration supermarket next to its headquarters in Nordborg, Denmark. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on March 29.
The new 1,500m2 (16,146ft2) supermarket will be “one of the world’s most energy-efficient supermarkets,” according to a post on Danfoss’ website. It will be fully functional and run by BALS (Brugsen for Als and Sundeved), a part of Denmark’s largest association of cooperatives, which will rent the building from Danfoss and install a COOP 365discount supermarket.
At the same time the store will function as an R&D laboratory for Danfoss. The company aims to use the supermarket to co-develop new technologies in collaboration with partners and “explore interfaces in the energy system surrounding energy storage.”
The cooling system in the new supermarket will run on CO2, “a natural refrigerant – which helps to reduce the overall climate impact,” said Danfoss.
The supermarket will use heat recovery for space heating and utilize Danfoss’ own Alsense software. It will be equipped with solar panels on the roof and charging points for electric cars. Danfoss will also establish a showroom as part of the store, with all installations visible to visitors and customers.
“The goal of the project is to show how easy and profitable it is to decarbonize our economy and ensure reliable and sustainable energy use,” said Kristian Strand, President for Refrigeration & A/C Controls at Danfoss Climate Solutions. “The solutions we are building here today represent the core of Danfoss solutions and will showcase how we can approach zero energy use in food retail together.”
“The goal of the project is to show how easy and profitable it is to decarbonize our economy and ensure reliable and sustainable energy use”
Kristian Strand, Danfoss
“Our aim is to boost the green transition with concrete evidence of how far we can go with energy efficiency,” said Jürgen Fischer, President of Danfoss Climate Solutions. “We want to demonstrate to customers and partners how energy-saving solutions work in real life.”
“That’s why visits to supermarkets will be one of the major attractions when the IEA delegates arrive in Denmark in June for the 7th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency,” Fischer added.
Cutting CO2 emissions and focusing on energy efficiency is not new to BALS. Since 2015 BALS has worked to reduce the energy consumption in its 13 stores, managing a 44% reduction of their total CO2 emissions so far.
“We already have a lot of experience, but the energy price spikes have put further pressure on the need for change,” said Lars G. Andersen, Managing Director of BALS. “We are proud to be part of one of the most energy-efficient supermarkets in the world and test the solutions that can help buildings become climate neutral.”
Another component manufacturer, U.S.-based Emerson, is also building a supermarket for R&D (focused on CO2 refrigeration), though it will not be a functioning supermarket like the Danfoss store.
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