Frascold, Solid Energy in district energy initiative
MILAN, Italy, 19 April 2022: District heating systems could be a key technology in achieving the international climate mitigation goals, both those laid out in the Paris Agreement and the more stringent ones set by the European Green Deal. Saying so, Frascold, which manufactures semi-hermetic compressors for the industrial refrigeration and air conditioning sectors, said it has combined with Solid Energy, which specialises in heat pumps powered by renewable energy sources, to contribute to the diffusion of district heating and pave the way to an ecological transition by signing up to numerous projects in Denmark.
Amongst the most recent partnerships, upgrading the Galten plant in the Scandinavian country stands out, Frascold said. The plant has been in operation since 1964 and is capable of powering approximately 2,130 homes, Frascold highlighted.
The collaboration between Frascold and Solid Energy for the Galten facility began in 2019 with the creation of a system able to produce 45,000 MWh per year, obtained from 6 Frascold CXH screw compressors, suitable for use with HC, for 3.5 MW of overall power. The subsequent expansion, in 2021, saw the addition of 12 CXH compressors for an increase in power of 7 MW, Frascold said.
The installed air-water heat pumps absorb heat from the outside air with 34 air coolers for a total of 3,215,000 m3/h and cover 98% of the district heating system’s power consumption – that is, 44.343 MWh – with a SCOP (Seasonal Coefficient of Performance) of 3.11, Frascold said. The plant provides a discharge temperature of 70 degrees C with a return of 38 degrees C, thus achieving a COP of 3.4 calculated by considering an outside air temperature of 8 degrees C, which is the annual average in Denmark, Frascold said.
“We think HC heat pumps are ideal for helping reduce the comfort sector’s environmental impact,” said Karsten Pedersen, Technical Director, Solid Energy. “Cascade systems with R290 and R600a guarantee the best balance of lowering direct and indirect consumption, flexibility of use and costs.
So, for this project, we relied, once more, on Frascold, which has supported us throughout each phase, and thanks to the constant dialogue with the Competence Center team, we have designed the ideal system to respond to the three challenges: Sustainability, performance and efficiency.
The partnership with Frascold is also based on the certified reliability of its wide range of hydrocarbon solutions: It is, in fact, the only manufacturer on the market with compressor sizes around 1,000 m3/h, which are perfect for our project and comply with ATEX directives for use in zone 2.”
Fabrizio Diotallevi, Frascold Sales Area Manager, North Europe, said: “Denmark is one of the most advanced countries in terms of district heating, and approximately 1.7 million homes, or 64% of the total, are powered by these systems, of which 61% already use energy from renewable sources.
A continuous improvement process is in line with the objective to completely eliminate fossil fuels in the segment by 2030. With the numerous plants brought online with Solid Energy, we are proud to contribute to this ambitious project, which we hope will be replicated in other countries.
This new success story with Solid Energy is another example of our expertise in building heat pump compressors, which we have gained through years of international partnerships using this technology that, in the near future, will be the basis for virtuous heating and zero environmental impact.”
Frascold SpA – www.frascold.it/en
Frascold is a leading player in the development, production and marketing of semi-hermetic, piston and screw compressors, at the service of the refrigeration and air conditioning industry. A company in continuous evolution, with its gaze always directed toward the future, which has built, over time, its competitive positioning on the value of the dynamic efficiency paradigm in which the company becomes the very engine of change, playing a propositional and proactive role towards the demand.
With headquarters in the province of Milan, in a facility occupying 53,000 m2 in total. Frascold Spa closed 2020 with a consolidated turnover of 55 million Euro. The Company boasts a well-balanced competitive position, thanks to the complete control of the value chain and a careful internationalisation strategy, which is expressed in significant investments in direct bases in China, India and the USA and agreements with Distributors in 86 countries.
Solid Energy A/S https://www.solid-group.dk/en
Solid Energy A/S is a cleantech company founded in 2015 in Denmark. It specialises in designing and installing heat pumps for district heating power stations and for large plants in, for example, the industrial sector. Solid Group has 35 employees and implemented 13 turnkey projects, for an overall total power of 40 MW.
Frascold, Solid Energy in district energy initiative
MILAN, Italy, 19 April 2022: District heating systems could be a key technology in achieving the
international climate mitigation goals, both those laid out in the Paris Agreement and the more
stringent ones set by the European Green Deal. Saying so, Frascold, which manufactures semi-
hermetic compressors for the industrial refrigeration and air conditioning sectors, said it has
combined with Solid Energy, which specialises in heat pumps powered by renewable energy
sources, to contribute to the diffusion of district heating and pave the way to an ecological
transition by signing up to numerous projects in Denmark.
Amongst the most recent partnerships, upgrading the Galten plant in the Scandinavian country
stands out, Frascold said. The plant has been in operation since 1964 and is capable of
powering approximately 2,130 homes, Frascold highlighted. The collaboration between
Frascold and Solid Energy for the Galten facility began in 2019 with the creation of a system
able to produce 45,000 MWh per year, obtained from 6 Frascold CXH screw compressors,
suitable for use with HC, for 3.5 MW of overall power. The subsequent expansion, in 2021, saw
the addition of 12 CXH compressors for an increase in power of 7 MW, Frascold said. The
installed air-water heat pumps absorb heat from the outside air with 34 air coolers for a total of
3,215,000 m 3 /h and cover 98% of the district heating system’s power consumption – that is,
44.343 MWh – with a SCOP (Seasonal Coefficient of Performance) of 3.11, Frascold said. The
plant provides a discharge temperature of 70 degrees C with a return of 38 degrees C, thus
achieving a COP of 3.4 calculated by considering an outside air temperature of 8 degrees C,
which is the annual average in Denmark, Frascold said.
“We think HC heat pumps are ideal for helping reduce the comfort sector’s environmental
impact,” said Karsten Pedersen, Technical Director, Solid Energy. “Cascade systems with R290
and R600a guarantee the best balance of lowering direct and indirect consumption, flexibility of
use and costs. So, for this project, we relied, once more, on Frascold, which has supported us
throughout each phase, and thanks to the constant dialogue with the Competence Center
team, we have designed the ideal system to respond to the three challenges: Sustainability,
performance and efficiency. The partnership with Frascold is also based on the certified
reliability of its wide range of hydrocarbon solutions: It is, in fact, the only manufacturer on the
market with compressor sizes around 1,000 m 3 /h, which are perfect for our project and comply
with ATEX directives for use in zone 2.”
Fabrizio Diotallevi, Frascold Sales Area Manager, North Europe, said: “Denmark is one of the
most advanced countries in terms of district heating, and approximately 1.7 million homes, or
64% of the total, are powered by these systems, of which 61% already use energy from
renewable sources. A continuous improvement process is in line with the objective to
completely eliminate fossil fuels in the segment by 2030. With the numerous plants brought
online with Solid Energy, we are proud to contribute to this ambitious project, which we hope
will be replicated in other countries. This new success story with Solid Energy is another
example of our expertise in building heat pump compressors, which we have gained through
years of international partnerships using this technology that, in the near future, will be the
basis for virtuous heating and zero environmental impact.”
Epta: ‘Possible to replace HCFC, HFC refrigerants with transcritical CO2 anywhere in the world’
MILAN, Italy, 29 June 2021: Increasingly stringent international regulations are driving a massive transformation in the world of commercial refrigeration – at a European level with the F-gas Regulation and internationally with the Kigali Amendment, commercial refrigeration manufacturer, Epta said through a Press release.
The company said it has already achieved important milestones in the technological development of HFC-free solutions. It added that its Life-C4R (Carbon 4 Retail) Refrigeration project, co-financed by the European Union, confirms the benefits of a natural approach.
Francesco Mastrapasqua, the company’s Institutional Affairs Manager, said: “The three-year Life-C4R – Carbon 4 Retail Refrigeration project was created to sensitise the scientific community, the component suppliers and the retail world’s key players in the use of increasingly efficient solutions. One of the goals is demonstrating how HCFC and HFC refrigerants can be completely replaced with transcritical CO2, anywhere in the world.”
The patented FTE 2.0 Full Transcritical Efficiency and ETE Extreme Temperature Efficiency systems, Epta said, are recognised by the EU as simple and efficient systems and are at the very core of the Life-C4R. “The Life-C4R Plan is essential in validating the FTE and ETE performance in all climatic conditions, in promoting their international diffusion and in certifying both as global and reliable solutions for the future of commercial CO2 refrigeration,” Mastrapasqua said. “The data analysis of the three Italian pilot projects and four replica prototypes in Romania and Spain, installed in collaboration with Epta Iberia and DAAS, will be presented during the Life-C4R Project digital conference, scheduled for July 1.”
The event will be an opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge on the plan’s innovations, lessons learnt and the advantages of the FTE 2.0 and ETE technologies, using the results collected in store by retailers, Epta said, adding that those interested in attending the conference could do so by registering at https://blog.eptarefrigeration.com/en/life-c4r.
FTE 2.0, Epta said, represents the evolution of its patented FTE Full Transcritical Efficiency system. It is recommended at any temperature and is, therefore, a must for obtaining maximum efficiency above 37 degrees C, it said. Simple, efficient, reliable and industrialised, FTE uses flooded evaporators, it said. They allow for the difference between the evaporation temperature and the cabinet’s internal temperature to be significantly reduced and, therefore, for an energy consumption 10% lower than a traditional CO2 system, it claimed.
This is a simple solution, the company said, where it has mechanically added only a multilevel liquid receiver to the standard configuration. On the one hand, FTE reduces the compressors’ discharge temperature, allowing for smooth functioning at high temperatures, it said. On the other hand, it guarantees their perfect lubrication, favouring a longer life cycle of the component itself, it said. FTE also guarantees up to 20% lower installation and maintenance costs, it added. Finally, the FTE 2.0 version, which is integrated into the rack, takes up less space and reduces installation and start-up times, it further added.
The ETE, Epta said, allows for 100% cooling capacity to be reached even in the hottest climates, both in industrial and commercial refrigeration applications. Recommended at temperatures between 30 degrees C and 40 degrees C, it guarantees maximum savings over 40 degrees C, also in combination with FTE, the company claimed. In this case, the transcritical CO2 system is guaranteed to work perfectly at any latitude, even on non-booster systems and in industrial refrigeration, it said. ETE’s “secret” is contained in the refrigerant temperatures’ reduction before its distribution to end users, it said. As it leaves the air exchanger at a value close to the ambient temperature, the gas is further cooled, it said. The system, it added, allows for an almost total disappearance of “flash-gas”, creating significant energy savings over time and smooth functioning even well above 40 degrees C.
