Star Refrigeration has collaboratively worked with Co-op to successfully complete the design, manufacture, supply and installation of a low charge ammonia and cascade CO2 refrigeration system at their 70,500 m3 multi-temperature food distribution facility in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.
After a successful tender process, Star Refrigeration provided a refrigeration system that would not only meet all of the Co-op’s stated load, energy efficiency and CO2 targets, but would also incur minimal ongoing maintenance costs and eliminate water usage.
About Co-op
Co-op is one of the largest consumer co-operative companies in the world, caring deeply about their members and giving back to their local community. It is recognised as a leader for its social goals and community-led programmes, existing to meet the needs of its member-owners and to stand up for the things they believe in.
Co-op continues to prioritise rapidly reducing the carbon from its operations and products, and total emissions were 56% lower in 2022 than they were in 2016.
As one of the world’s largest member-owned consumer co-operatives, Co-op operates top-of-the-range storage and distribution facilities all over Britain to ensure their loyal member and customer base have access to their quality produce, conveniently, when and where they need it.
For this particular project and to support business growth, Co-op acquired an existing building for reuse and renovation rather than undertaking an entirely new construction, helping reduce the environmental impact. Prior to the commencement of the works, all internal structures and existing cooling equipment were removed in order to develop the facility to the company’s specific requirements.
There were three areas requiring refrigeration: a cold store operating at -23°C, a +1°C chilled storage chamber and a despatch area also operating at +1°C. Due to the complex and multifaceted nature of the project, several different specialist companies worked together to offer their expertise.
One of the main challenges posed by this project was a short programme period for completing the works, with a goal of 37 weeks for the site to become operational. Working around the sequencing of the installation and the challenging commissioning programme, Star were able to meet all targets, gaining praise from their partners.
The new installation at Wellingborough further cements the Co-op’s status as an environmentally responsible retailer. It also reinforces Star’s credentials as an innovator capable of delivering low carbon refrigeration solutions for a range of applications.
“Co-op is committed to rapidly reducing the carbon from its operations and products. It’s widely acknowledged that decarbonisation needs to speed up and through co-operation we can work together to reduce carbon at a faster rate. I am proud to have been part of this project. With lower energy consumption and carbon emissions, the work brings us a step closer in meeting our Net Zero targets.”
Adrian Crowther, Design and Standards Manager at Co-op
The solution
Star worked with Co-op to develop an innovative, cost effective, energy efficient solution aimed at reducing initial capital cost and ongoing operational costs while providing all the benefits associated with the use of future proof, low carbon natural refrigerants, which do not fall under the European F-Gas regulation.
The solution comprised two low charge ammonia Azanechillers serving the chilled despatch and storage areas. These chillers delivered glycol to the condenser on a Star built subcritical CO2 pack, Envicold, which provided refrigeration for a small -22°C cold store. The total chill and frozen cooling capacity is more than 1200 kW.
The Azanechillers are factory-run tested prior to dispatch, therefore the site commissioning time is kept to a minimum, which helped to deliver the complete project in an incredibly tight timeframe.
Meanwhile, Star’s CO2 Envicold package provides the Co-op’s cold store with 90 kW of cooling capacity for the storage of frozen produce. The CO2 refrigeration package maximises energy efficiency by operating subcritically throughout the entire year.
Infrastructure costs were also minimised, as the chillers do not require a plant room and were located at ground level between the loading bays. The CO2 pack was positioned within the existing plant room together with the supervisor control panel, further minimising site installation time and costs.
The benefits
The Co-op’s Azanechillers 2.0 have an impressive Seasonal Energy Performance Ratio, SEPR, of 4.52. This surpasses the minimum energy efficiency requirements set by the EU’s EcoDesign Directive by 55%.
Since the new plant was installed in 2019, energy consumption has been remotely recorded through the chillers’ power meters and supervisor PLC on a daily basis. Analysis of annualised data from 2023 indicates that the new refrigeration system consumes 67% less electrical energy than the European average energy consumption for a site of the same volume and is in line with the highest industry standards set up by the UK Best Practice benchmark proposed for modern temperature controlled facilities, published in 2019.
This project demonstrates that economic viability and environmental responsibility can indeed go hand in hand.
Star are proud to continue its longstanding partnership with Co-op, focusing on enhancing the energy efficiency of their cold stores and helping them in their journey towards net zero. The Wellingborough facility is supported by Star’s local Midlands branch and a team of nearly 20 industrial refrigeration engineers who are dedicated to ensuring the cooling plant performs optimally for years to come.
