Japan’s first manufacturing facility for industrial CO₂ TC systems opens

Japan-based system manufacturer Nihon Netsugen Systems (NNS) has opened a new manufacturing facility dedicated to CO₂ transcritical rack systems for the Japanese market.

The facility will manufacture the first CO₂ transcritical system designed for industrial refrigeration in Japan.

The official opening ceremony was held on 1 December in Shiga, Japan.

100 CO₂ TC systems manufactured per year

The system being produced at the factory is NNS' brand new lineup of transcritical CO₂ condensing units, dubbed CO₂ Booster Super Green, which debuted at the company’s launch event on 29 September.

Currently, the system is available in two temperature ranges: -0°C for cold stores and -25°C for freezers. Each are available in 30 kW and 60 kW capacities.

“This is, I think, quite a new challenge in the Japanese market,” said NNS President Katsuhiko Harada.

“I think this really fits the [specific] size [required for] industrial refrigeration and cold storage. Therefore, we want to open the market and we want to develop a new CO₂ market in Japan.”

To meet demand, the company is aiming to produce more than 100 units per year, remarked Harada. The company is already able to produce 12 units per month at this time.

NNS has recognised the rapid spread of CO₂ systems in Europe, and is working with leading global suppliers of CO₂ technology on the CO₂ Booster Super Green.

NNS is partnering with compressor manufacturer GEA on the CO₂ booster super green.

“We are sure, based on our long-lasting and trustworthy co-operation, that we can start […] this journey together by packaging CO₂ compressor systems for medium and larger applications, especially for cold stores and supermarkets,” said Klaus Stojentin, GEA’s executive vice-president for product management & sales.

"It was a win-win situation from the beginning," continued Stojentin.

"For us, a supplier of CO₂ compressors, it is very important that we are cooperating with Nihon Netsugen Systems here in Japan, who has very broad application and system knowledge building state of the art CO₂ units."

“By building this new outstanding facility, and realising the CO₂ booster super green, Nihon Netsugen sets an impressive mark on the future,” added Robert Gerle, managing director of gas cooler supplier Güntner.

Danfoss, ESK Schultze, Emerson, and Refrigera Industriale supply other system components.

To date, a total of 50 units have already been installed around Japan. Harada added that 40 of them used Japan’s subsidy for natural refrigerant systems.

In August, the Japanese government announced ¥9.4 billion or €72 million of natural refrigerant subsidies for the 2018 fiscal year , the largest amount available in the history of the scheme (which now includes the food retail and food manufacturing sectors).

Nihon Netsugen Systems is a Gold sponsor of the upcoming ATMOsphere Japan 2018 conference, where it will present more details about the new CO₂ transcritical system. The event will be held on 13 February 2018, one day before Japan’s largest retail exhibition, the Supermarket Tradeshow.