ICA Aims to be More Energy Efficient with the Hydroloop Glycol System

ICA, the biggest supermarket chain in Sweden, is Thinking Green, just like FREOR, and is working to achieve a net-zero climate impact for the ICA group’s operations by 2030. To achieve that big goal, ICA is always looking for new ways to be even more environmentally friendly.

For a supermarket, or any store, rethinking the cooling strategy is essential to any goal of being environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, and future-proof. The ICA chain, which is not afraid of change and is always looking for more sustainable solutions, for the first time decided to install a full Hydroloop Glycol cooling system at its newest store.

client

location

Sweden

Refrigeration System

Hydroloop Glycol

Products

Benefits of the Hydroloop Glycol Refrigeration System

In FREOR’s Hydroloop Glycol cooling solution, excess condensation heat is removed via liquid pipes. That can be used to warm a store’s premises and water during winter, while in summer, the excess heat is eliminated from the store with an environmentally friendly glycol line. The system requires very little refrigerant, saves space in the store, and, most importantly, lowers energy consumption, which is a substantial help as ICA’s supermarkets pursue their goal.

The ICA project was handled by FREOR’s partner Coolfors Sweden, a leader in store refrigeration in the country. They helped the ICA managers choose the perfect refrigeration solution and installed the resulting equipment from the Green Wave R290 range in the store.

The cooling equipment installed includes:

JUPITER multidecks – a great, universal cooling solution for displaying a variety of products – installed with glass doors for better energy efficiency.
PLUTON SPACE semi verticals – an excellent refrigeration solution for displaying fresh products and providing comfortable product reach for shopping and stocking.
VEGA SPACE QB LG self-service counters, which create a comfortable shopping experience for customers, offering great product visibility and letting them pick the products themselves.
VEGA SPACE QB CONVERT convertible counter – an innovative solution allowing conversion from serve-over to self-service counter, giving store employees freedom.
ERIDA upright freezers, which ensure ideal product visibility even from the other side of the store, displaying products at customers’ eye level.
LEDA freezer islands with push glass lids that enhance merchandising while ensuring better energy consumption.

All the commercial refrigeration equipment in the new store operates on R290 refrigerant. This represents the first pilot of R290 refrigerant, as a competitor of CO₂ cooling solutions, in ICA supermarkets. The chain will be following this installation’s energy consumption with interest to see whether the Hydroloop Glycol cooling system and R290 refrigerant are the right future-proof solution for their smaller stores in Sweden to help reach their sustainability goals.