News & Media
EU-backed project looked at one year of operation at two stores in different climates.
The MultiPACK project, a five-year-old EU-sponsored initiative to support integrated transcritical CO2 HVAC&R systems, reported on the energy performance of two such systems at the 14th IIR-Gustav Lorentzen Conference on Natural Refrigerants (GL2020), held in Kyoto, Japan, and online from December 7 to 9.
The research was presented on behalf of the MultiPACK project by Silvia Minetto, with the Italian National Research Council and the Construction Technologies Institute.
It includes the annual specific energy consumption figures for integrated transcritical CO2 systems at two supermarkets located in different climatic regions of Italy, following more than a year of operation.
For the supermarket in Rome, researchers confirmed annual specific energy consumption figures of 111kWh/m2/year (based on shopping area) and 85kWh/m2/year (based on total area of the supermarket). The Rome supermarket has a shopping area of 1,450m2 (15,607ft2) and a total supermarket area of 1,900m2 (20,451ft2).
For the supermarket in the Trentino region of Northern Italy, researchers confirmed annual specific energy consumption figures of 146kWh/m2/year (shopping area) and 116kWh/m2/year (total area of the supermarket). The Trentino supermarket has a shopping area 1,750m2 (18,836ft2) and a total supermarket area of 2,200m2 (23,680ft2).
Both supermarkets are using CO2-based refrigeration systems designed to supply all thermal energy needs for the store (refrigeration, heating, cooling and hot water production). The systems use parallel compression and ejectors.
“We think that these values can be the starting point for the next step we are taking [for the MultiPACK project], which is trying to compare the performances of MultiPACK systems with systems that are already out in the field and maybe running [as] traditional systems,” said Minetto.
The MultiPACK project started in 2016 and is expected to wrap up in September 2021. It is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program and project partners include the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Sintef, CNR-ITC, Danfoss, enex, Sonae and retailer RACE. The project is led by NTNU.
Many Stakeholders Bullish On R744
21 January 2021
published on R744.CO2 COOLING MARKETPLACE
According to data presented in October 2020 by sheccoBASE (the research arm of shecco, publisher of this website), Europe leads the world in transcritical CO2 installations with 29,000. It is followed by Japan (5,000), U.S. (650), Canada (340), South Africa (220+), New Zealand (100), Australia (95) and South America (75), and scattered installations elsewhere.
How will this picture change in 2021?
Armin Hafner, professor in refrigeration in the Department of Energy and Process Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), and a longtime expert in CO2 refrigeration, is bullish on its prospects.
“We will see more commercial refrigeration systems applying CO2 in 2021 across the world as this technology outperforms the previous technology both regarding energy efficiency and total investment costs,” Hafner said. “The end users are aware of the advantages of the CO₂ technology globally and are pushing the local suppliers to deliver this technology whenever ready and possible.” The main bottleneck: “training and knowledge transfer”...
Norwegian Researchers Develop Simplified Ejector-Based CO2 System
18 October 2021
published on R744.CO2 COOLING MARKETPLACE
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Norwegian research institute SINTEF have successfully tested a transcritical CO2 (R744) supermarket booster system that includes a multi-ejector and low-pressure receiver that “boost the energy efficiency and keep the system rather simple,” said Armin Hafner, professor of Refrigeration Technology at NTNU.
“When it comes to ejectors, we have seen a lot of impressive innovations, but now it’s time to go back to a simpler system and make this a global application,” said Hafner, a pioneering researcher in CO2 refrigeration, who shared his insights in the Technology Trends session at ATMOsphere Europe, held online September 28-29. “The simpler the system, the easier is wide implementation.” In part, this is because training is easier, he noted.
NTNU and SINTEF have tested the simplified ejector system for different load conditions. “The next time, we will build this in a project; we will implement this concept,” he said.
Integrated R744 HVAC&R systems Found Suitable for Stores in Southern European Climate
10 September 2020
published on R744.CO2 COOLING MARKETPLACE
The MultiPACK project, a five-year-old EU-sponsored initiative to support integrated CO2 HVAC&R systems, has presented preliminary results showing that integrated CO2 heating and cooling solutions are suitable for supermarkets in a southern European climate.
“The data gained from measurements and models demonstrate that the performance of integrated MultiPACK systems makes them feasible in a southern European climate,” said Michael Jokiel, Master of Science in Thermal Energy at Norwegian research institution Sintef, one of the researchers behind the study...
ATMO Europe: Natural refrigerants ripe for new markets
19 November 2018
Air-conditioning and heat pump applications are promising growth markets for natural refrigerants, heard ATMOsphere Europe conference participants today as Professor Armin Hafner from the the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) addresses ATMOsphere Europe at Lago di Garda.
The article can be found on R744.com at this page.
Demonstration sites
18 January 2017
If you own a hotel, gym, spa or other similar large, high energy-demanding building in Southern Europe and the energy systems are out of date with a high environmental impact, then you are a potential candidate in the MultiPACK demonstration sites selection process.
The advanced energy efficient MultiPACK package will be installed at no additional cost (the baseline system has to be purchased, additional funding for project design consultancy is available), tuned to meet the needs of the specific site, and continuously monitored. You will experience first-hand the advantages of the system, as it allows to save more than 25% of the energy and money with respect to current technologies.
Kick-off and General Assembly meeting
18 January 2017
The MultiPACK project had its kick-off meeting in Trondheim, Norway, on 27-28 October 2016. The venue was Lian restaurant, were a conference room overlooking the nearby lake and the mountainous landscape south of Trondheim was reserved. All the seven project’s partners and the project advisor from the European Commission were represented, several presentations were given to introduce the project’s intended goals and its organisation.
The second day was devoted to the first General Assembly of the consortium.
The MultiPACK project’s website is finally online!
18 January 2017
There you will find:
- information about the project;
- MultiPACK partners;
- organisation of the project;
- dissemination events some or all of the partners plan to attend;
- an e-mail address to contact us.
The website is hosted by NTNU, which is responsible for editing it and also serves as the project’s coordinator.
Contact us for further details
Contact us for more information on where to meet us and how you can contribute to the project.
Visit the section "Get involved" to know what we are particularly interested in.