The city of Caen-le-Mer, located in northwestern France, has chosen a transcritical CO2 PowerCO2OL rack from U.S. OEM Carrier for its Olympic-sized ice skating rink, getting a solution that is 30% more energy efficient and easier to maintain than a conventional installation, according to Carrier.
The rack chosen by Caen has a cooling capacity of 500kW (142.2TR) and powers a glycol-water loop at -8°C to -10°C (17.6°F to 14°F) to maintain the rink’s ice sheet. The solution has three heat recovery systems at different temperature levels. These heat recovery systems supply domestic hot water for the building and heating for the facility’s three outdoor swimming pools. The recovered heat is also used to “melt ice placed in the snow pit during surfacing operations,” Carrier said.
The PowerCO2OL solution was installed and configured by Profroid, a subsidiary of Carrier, in collaboration with Dalkia Froid Solutions. Profroid is responsible for operating and maintaining the new installation.
“This installation is a great opportunity for Profroid to promote our CO2 capabilities for high-capacity applications such as warehouses or sports venues,” said Patrick Dandrieux, Technical Support Manager at Profroid. “We are very proud to offer such a solution on a large scale with the PowerCO2OL system, which offers advantages in terms of sustainability, energy savings and efficiency,” Dandrieux added.
“Energy and environmental efficiency linked to the growing need for cold production and the development of sustainable refrigerants are major challenges in the energy transition and the fight against climate change,” said Philippe Anselme, Managing Director at Dalkia Froid Solutions. “Dalkia Froid Solutions positions itself as a trusted partner to its customers to meet these challenges over the long term. This is why we selected the PowerCO2OL solution for this iconic installation.”
“We are very proud to offer such a solution on a large scale with the PowerCO2OL system, which offers advantages in terms of sustainability, energy savings and efficiency”
Patrick Dandrieux, Profroid
The facility uses a centralized technical management (CTM) system to “control the installation of the ice rink to parameterize, program and control the operation of all the equipment remotely,” Profroid explained. The CTM regulates the refrigeration rack, manages the heat recovery, and can “define time slots and modulate the ice temperature according to the activities.”
Powerful award winner
The PowerCO2OL is Carrier’s most powerful CO2 rack to date and uses patented CO2OLtecEvo technology, which operates with modulating ejectors. It is designed for both single and dual-temperature setups, and can be configured in several ways with direct expansion, flooded liquid chillers, pump-assisted flooded low-temperature systems and liquid-to-liquid heat pumps.
The PowerCO2OL system was launched in 2020, and has already been installed in several locations around the world. Installations include SNØ — Norway’s first year-round indoor ski arena, and a bakery in Denmark needing it for a new production line.
The PowerCO2OL was a finalist at the Innovation of the Year Awards during the ATMO Virtual Trade Show in March 2021, where it won the Gold Award.
Carrier installed its first transcritical CO2 system in a Swiss supermarket in 2004. By 2014, Carrier had reached 1,000 installed units. In October 2019, the company reported 13,000 installations, and being well on its way to 20,000.
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