ALDI Groups Continue Installing CO₂ Systems in Europe and U.S.

The two ALDI Groups – ALDI Nord (North) and Aldi Süd (South) – have been financially and legally separate since 1966, but both are intent on installing transcritical CO₂ (R744) systems in their stores.

In its latest move, ALDI Nord announced that all of its 16 stores in Luxembourg will use a natural CO₂ cooling system by 2030, according to a report in Delano.lu.

In 2016, the report said, Aldi found that 17% of its total CO₂e emissions in Luxembourg were due to fluorinated refrigerant leaks in refrigeration and freezer units, prompting the shift to natural refrigerants. 

ALDI Nord had already taken steps to reduce carbon emissions by a few hundred metric tons in its Luxembourg stores, using roof solar panels, low energy lighting, as well as heat and rainwater recovery systems.

Up to nearly 400 stores in U.S

Meanwhile, in the U.S., ALDI US, a division of ALDI Süd, announced last month that nearly 400 of its stores use natural refrigerants. This follows an announcement last November that ALDI US had installed natural refrigerant systems – mostly transcritical CO₂ equipment – in 360 stores. 

ALDI US, which operates more than 2,000 stores across 37 states, is the leading food retail user of natural refrigerant systems in the U.S.

ALDI US also announced that it plans to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 26% by 2025. It will do this through a continued transition to solar and wind energy sourcing and building out its renewable infrastructure to rely less on grey power grids. ALDI US currently has solar panels at 111 stores and 12 distribution centers nationwide and will add solar to warehouses in Alabama and Kansas, as well as roughly 60 stores by the end of 2022.