After successful trials last year, supermarket giant Tesco has ordered five refrigerated vehicles fitted with refrigeration units using CO2 and R1270 (propene).
The refrigerated lorries, jointly developed with British company Grey & Adams, use TM182 transport refrigeration systems developed by German manufacturer Ecooltec Grosskopf GmbH.
During the trials, Tesco carried out several multiple-drop, on-road tests, during which the Ecooltec units proved that they are capable of reliably delivering frozen and chilled goods at the specified temperatures.
“The two Ecooltec vehicles we’ve been using have performed successfully and we’re looking forward to introducing another five to our fleet,” said Tesco fleet engineering manager Cliff Smith.
The multitemp box body uses movable partitions to create two compartments for simultaneous frozen and fresh service operations.
A single Ecooltec evaporator is employed in the front compartment and a double evaporator in the second chamber to distribute the cold air. The electrical energy to drive the TM182 is generated by the Ecooltec generator G30, which is connected to the truck engine.
CO2 is used in the box body for the cold distribution. Outside the body, the R1270 and CO2 circuits are thermally connected via a plate heat exchanger. The TM182 only needs 650g of R1270 in each external circuit and around 1kg of CO2 per internal cooling circuit, resulting in four independent and fully hermetic refrigeration circuits with reduced impact gases.
The Ecooltec refrigeration system is said to require 60% less fuel and causes 80% less CO2 emissions than a conventional system with the same cooling capacity powered by a stand-alone diesel engine.
