London, UK: Tesco is trialling two E-CoolTech fridges, the first time the fridges have been tested by a UK operator. The German-made E-CoolTech TM182 units use natural refrigerants with a negligible greenhouse gas potential, and are fitted in bespoke Gray & Adams rigid bodies.
The fridges are electrically driven, providing frozen and chilled for the twin-compartment body that uses a moveable bulkhead to separate compartments. The electricity is provided by an engine PTO driven alternator.
“The use of the natural refrigerants CO2 (R744) and propene (R1270) to generate refrigeration is unique in the heavy-duty commercial vehicle segment,” E-Cool Tech says. “Thanks to the purely electric, locally almost emission-free and CO2-free drive, the system produces neither local pollutant nor CO2 emissions when in battery operation, and up to 98 percent fewer emissions compared to diesel-powered refrigeration systems via the alternator drive.”
Cliff Smith, fleet engineering manager, Tesco, said: “As we look to decarbonise our transport, using lower impact refrigeration will play an important role in our efforts to become net zero by 2035. With these two new innovative Gray & Adams and E-CoolTech trucks, in addition to our electric HGVs, electric home delivery vans and solar powered refrigeration units, we are leading the way in electric haulage innovation, helping to tackle road transport emissions.”
Henning Altebäumer, chief executiove, E-CoolTech said: “The fact that a major international retail group like Tesco has decided in favour of E-CoolTech technology is a great vote of confidence for us. In Gray & Adams, we have found a perfect body builder in the UK that has the necessary expertise and is open to innovation”.
Other advantages of the E-CoolTech cooling capacity, which also fulfils the high requirements for temperature safety in the demanding food distribution with perishable goods, he said. Despite its high performance, the energy consumption of the transport refrigeration machine is low. The system requires 60 to 80% less energy than a conventional diesel-powered system for the same cooling capacity. The noise level is significantly lower than that of comparable units with diesel engines.
