Swedish NatRefs Consultant EKA Opens Branch in Latvia

EKA (Energi & Kylanalys AB), an Älvsjö, Sweden-based energy and refrigeration consulting company with a global specialty in CO₂ refrigeration for ice rinks and other applications, has announced the opening of a subsidiary, EKA Baltic (EKA-B), located in Riga, Latvia. 

Supported by its parent company, EKA-B will offer energy-efficiency services, including system optimization and design; EKA, in both Sweden and Latvia, also offers a expertise in Combined Cooling and Heating (CCH).

The new company’s focus will be on industries and businesses in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania (as well Belarus and Russia) using refrigeration applications, such as ice rinks, grocery stores, dairies, breweries, pharmaceutical factories, and others. 

“There is great potential in terms of energy efficiency in the Baltic countries and with our combined experience we can contribute to accelerating the development towards more sustainable refrigeration technologies,” said Juris Pomerancevs, who previously worked for EKA in Sweden is now co-owner and managing director:of EKA-B.

Pomerancevs has started a collaboration with Riga Technical University and will help it develop projects and supervise students.

Track record with NatRefs

Founded in 2010, EKA in Sweden has a track record with natural refrigerants, particularly in ice arenas, including Europe’s first full CO₂ ice arena. It also works with CO₂ systems for cold storage, breweries, industrial heat pumps and stores, as well as ammonia upgrades and the occasional hydrocarbon heat pump application.

According to the EKA’s analysis of the Baltic market, there is “a great potential” for natural refrigerants in industrial and commercial applications, where existing systems “are often inefficient and using harmful synthetic refrigerants,” the company said in a press statement.

In the Baltic region, the natural refrigerant market is still “relatively immature” but offers opportunities, added Pomerancevs. “With the push from the F-gas Regulation and a growing environmental awareness, we believe it is good timing to start offering our services in this field.”

Many companies in the food industry have their production sites in the Baltics region as well as neighboring Belarus and Russia, and “energy optimization is one of the ways to increase their competitiveness,” noted the EKA press statement. 

Moreover, these are countries where ice hockey is the national sport. Like its parent, EKA Baltic has “a broad competence in supporting existing ice rinks to save energy as well as designing new systems,” said the press statement.

Jörgen Rogstam, owner of EKA in Sweden and co-owner of EKA Baltic, said he is sure about the demand for refrigeration competence in the Baltic region and that natural refrigerants offer long-term benefits to owners.

“We see that by only doing the things right with existing energy systems it is often possible to increase the efficiency by about 20%,” said Rogstam. “Next step is to do it ‘right’ from the beginning and further savings of up to 50% compared to the baseline designs are possible.”

“The ‘right design, in our opinion, is based on natural refrigerants and a well-designed heat recovery solution.”