Brussels, 16 March 2018: The voyages of the 15th and 16th Centuries are perhaps the most famous period in Portugal’s long history of overseas exploration, when sailors such as Vasco Da Gama were at the vanguard of a new Age of Discovery. Fast-forward to today, and Da Gama’s pioneering spirit is certainly alive and well in this southwest corner of Europe.
The cover story of the spring edition of Accelerate Europe puts the spotlight on market-leading cash and carry retailer Recheio, which is aiming for all its stores to use 100% natural refrigerants by 2030. After visiting Recheio’s first CO2 transcritical store – in Da Gama’s birthplace of Sines – we spoke to COO Angela Soares at headquarters in Lisbon to hear more about the firm’s sustainability journey.
“Here at Accelerate Europe, we see 2018 as an opportunity for new adventures too. We are delighted to present our new-look magazine – I hope you enjoy reading it!” said Accelerate Europe Editor Andrew Williams.
With CO2 transcritical refrigeration technology already well established in European supermarkets, it is now making inroads into convenience stores too. From its new factory in the northwest Polish city of Szczecin, Advansor looks well placed to capitalise on a growing market.
We also report from Belgian capital Brussels, where heat reclaimed from a CO2 transcritical refrigeration system is used to warm a greenhouse on the roof of a Delhaize supermarket. Food grown on this rooftop Urban Farm is sold in the store below.
Further afield, METRO China – part of German giant METRO AG – has installed the Chinese retail sector’s first CO2 transcritical system, in a METRO wholesale store in Beijing.
Natural refrigerants are penetrating the North American residential market as apartment buildings in Seattle install CO2 heat pump water heaters. At this year’s AHR Expo, European companies were on hand to bring their natural refrigerant innovations to the US market. And in Ohio, a low-charge ammonia packaged chiller is providing air conditioning at a Campbell Soup plant.
The United Nations Development Programme is supporting the technology changes that will deliver the HFC phasedown targets enshrined in the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. We visit the UNDP regional office in Istanbul for an exclusive interview.
Award-winning professor, researcher and entrepreneur Pega Hrnjak is a familiar face to anyone who follows natural refrigerants. In our interview, he sheds light on his quest to optimise the use of natural refrigerants in myriad HVAC&R applications.
While refrigeration continues to make big strides towards natural refrigerants, air conditioning still lags behind in many European countries. In the year of Mostra Convegno Expocomfort and ATMOsphere Europe in Riva del Garda, this issue’s Technology Focus looks at what Italian companies are doing to close this gap.
Features on an ice hotel in northern Sweden, Australian independent retailer Drakes Supermarkets and an EU policy update are among some of the other stories waiting for you in this edition.
Click here to read the spring 2018 edition of Accelerate Europe.
Contact
Andrew Williams
European Editor
andrew.williams@shecco.eu
