Huure launches smart tool for supermarkets

Finland-based Huure (a leading supplier of energy-efficient CO₂ refrigeration systems and refrigeration automation solutions) has developed a new technology with artificial intelligence to manage the electricity demanded by supermarkets and other larger buildings. 

The Huurre smart iTOP application automates the management of demand flow in the electricity grid. 

It uses artificial intelligence to drive power consumption to more suitable times in the day without sacrificing food safety.

"Huurre's iTOP control technology, developed at the Huurre technology centre, promotes the integration of renewable energy in line with the energy and climate strategy," said Janne Mäntynen, Huurre’s head of global sales refrigeration automation. 

Huure developed this demand-side management tool with three other Finnish companies – energy management company Fortum, electricity company S-Voima and supermarket chain Etelä-Karjalan Osuuskauppa. 

Fortum developed a virtual battery concept, allowing capacity to be flexibly adjusted to maintain the balance of the electricity grid, which is integrated with Huure’s smart iTOP application.

This integration allows for efficient management of the refrigeration system and the waste heat that is used in the supermarket. 

"Different refrigeration and heating solutions consume a large amount of energy globally. Huurre's iTOP system makes it possible to connect them in a scalable manner to our ever-growing virtual battery," Fortum’s Business Development Manager Ilari Alaperä said.

Etelä-Karjalan Osuuskauppa's Prisma supermarket in Imatra, eastern Finland has installed the electricity management technology. 

"Demand-side management is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce our CO₂ emissions and to make the entire power system more manageable. The solution we are now testing has no impact on the on-site conditions," said Mikko Härkönen, property manager at Etelä-Karjalan Osuuskauppa.