ALDI US up to 130 stores with transcritical CO₂ 

ALDI US has installed a transcritical CO₂ system in 130 stores – almost twice the number (69) of stores with a transcritical system a year ago – according to Amber Hardy, director of energy management for ALDI US.

The chain continues to have more stores with a transcritical system than any other U.S. food retailer.

By the end of this year, ALDI US, based in Batavia, Ill. – and an independently operated member of Mülheim, Germany-based ALDI South (Sud) – intends to have “all 130 [stores] certified Platinum” by the Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Partnership, said Hardy.

ALDI US was the winner of the Accelerate America 2018 Best in Sector/Food Retail Award, presented in June at the ATMOsphere America conference in Long Beach, Calif.

ALDI South recently reported that it had installed a transcritical CO₂ system in 1,496 stores worldwide as of 2017, with 1,324 in Germany.

ALDI US, which operates about 1,700 stores, plans to expand to 2,500 by the end of 2022, and remodel more than 1,300 stores by 2020. The number of transcritical installations “changes daily given our store growth and remodel plan,” said Hardy.

The company’s long-term strategy is to standardize its stores on transcritical CO₂ systems, said Aaron Sumida, an ALDI US vice president.

Most of the ALDI US transcritical installations have been in new stores, though some are in remodeled locations. Notably, about half of ALDI US’s transcritical stores are situated in southern climates, where they employ an adiabatic condenser to maintain efficiency in warm ambient temperatures.

All of the transcritical systems have been supplied by Hillphoenix, with the exception of six provided by Hussmann. The majority of the Hillphoenix systems are the AdvansorFlex, the company’s downsized transcritical model designed for small-format stores.

Over 900 ALDI US stores have self-contained spot merchandisers (chest freezers) operating with propane.