GL2020: MultiPACK Project Reports Energy Results of Integrated CO₂ Systems in Italy

The MultiPACK project, a five-year-old EU-sponsored initiative to support integrated transcritical CO₂ HVAC&R systems, reported on the energy performance of two such systems at the 14th IIR-Gustav Lorentzen Conference on Natural Refrigerants (GL2020), held in Kyoto, Japan, and online from December 7 to 9.

The research was presented on behalf of the MultiPACK project by Silvia Minetto, with the Italian National Research Council and the Construction Technologies Institute.

It includes the annual specific energy consumption figures for integrated transcritical CO₂ systems at two supermarkets located in different climatic regions of Italy, following more than a year of operation.

For the supermarket in Rome, researchers confirmed annual specific energy consumption figures of 111kWh/m²/year (based on shopping area) and 85kWh/m²/year (based on total area of the supermarket). The Rome supermarket has a shopping area of 1,450m² (15,607ft²) and a total supermarket area of 1,900m² (20,451ft²).

For the supermarket in the Trentino region of Northern Italy, researchers confirmed annual specific energy consumption figures of 146kWh/m2/year (shopping area) and 116kWh/m²/year (total area of the supermarket). The Trentino supermarket has a shopping area 1,750m² (18,836ft²) and a total supermarket area of 2,200m² (23,680ft²).

Both supermarkets are using CO₂-based refrigeration systems designed to supply all thermal energy needs for the store (refrigeration, heating, cooling and hot water production). The systems use parallel compression and ejectors.

“We think that these values can be the starting point for the next step we are taking [for the MultiPACK project], which is trying to compare the performances of MultiPACK systems with systems that are already out in the field and maybe running [as] traditional systems,” said Minetto.

The MultiPACK project started in 2016 and is expected to wrap up in September 2021. It is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program and project partners include the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Sintef, CNR-ITC, Danfoss, enex, Sonae and retailer RACE. The project is led by NTNU.