Ebergassing, Austria: Carrier Commercial Refrigeration Austria has announced providing sustainable carbon dioxide (CO₂) refrigeration technologies for SPAR’s new distribution centre — reportedly the first transcritical CO₂ installation in the region — in Ebergassing, Austria. Stating that it is environmentally sustainable, the company said that the CO2OLtec system helps to improve the centre’s energy efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint by using the naturally occurring refrigerant, CO₂.

With the new distribution centre in Ebergassing, SPAR, the company said, is setting new standards in sustainability and innovation. Out of the total 44,000 square meters of floor space in the new building, 19,000 square meters are dedicated to refrigerated goods, revealed the company. The company added that SPAR has received a platinum pre-certification by the Austrian association for sustainable real estate industry, Österreichische Gesellschaft für nachhaltige Immobilienwirtschaft.

The CO2OLtec refrigeration, the company claimed, racks leverage-proven CO₂ refrigeration technology to deliver sustainable efficiency for large capacity loads, which are needed in large distribution centres. The waste heat created during the refrigeration process, the company explained, can be collected and redistributed for space heating. It added that approximately 500 kW of heating capacity is recovered by the CO2OLtec system in SPAR’s distribution centre.

“Our new distribution center is one of the world’s most innovative and sustainable of its kind; not only in terms of logistics management, but also with regard to the refrigeration technology we have implemented,” said Gerald Geiger, Director, Building/Energy/technology, SPAR Austria. “Carrier’s CO₂ system meets our need for a long-term, cost-effective solution.”

Wolfgang Hobisch, Managing Director, Carrier Commercial Refrigeration, Austria, added: “This amazing project is not only the first distribution center refrigerated by a CO₂ system in Austria, but also one of the largest installations by Carrier in Europe. We are proud that SPAR has chosen Carrier as its preferred expert for CO₂ refrigeration.”