Supermarket chain Waitrose & Partners is conducting a low emissions trial of a Carrier Transicold engineless Syberia TWINCOOL multi-temperature refrigeration unit specified on a natural gas-powered truck. Funded through Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, Waitrose & Partners is working alongside researchers from the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight at the University of Cambridge as part of a year-long government low emissions freight and logistics initiative aimed at showcasing how such a combination could dramatically cut fleet emissions. Carrier Transicold, which operates in the UK as Carrier Transicold (UK) Limited, is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
The trial will document how much Carrier Transicold’s Syberia refrigeration unit, combined with a Scania P280 rigid truck using a natural gas truck engine, can lower CO2 emissions and further improve fleet efficiency.
“We have specified Carrier Transicold units for many years and they continually impress us with their performance,” said Simon Gray, vehicle fleet engineering manager, Waitrose & Partners. “We wanted to put the engineless solution to the test and monitor performance across a full 12-month period. The results of the trial will likely guide our future fleet specification – hopefully allowing us to focus on continuing to improve the sustainability of our transport operations.”
The Syberia TWINCOOL runs entirely on hydro-electric power generated by the truck’s ultra-clean Euro 6 engine, cutting emissions by removing the diesel engine inside the refrigeration unit. The refrigeration unit is powered by Carrier Transicold’s ECO-DRIVE GenSet, driven by a hydro pump connected to the truck’s power take-off motor. The hydraulic system drives a generator that delivers electrical power to the host unit and provides a continual, 100 per cent refrigeration capacity even at the truck’s standard idle speed.
Industry testing has shown natural gas vehicles to benefit from lower exhaust and noise emissions compared with diesel engines. The Syberia unit contributes to this quiet operation with a PIEK-compliant noise level of 60 dB(A) at 100 per cent capacity.
The Waitrose & Partners commercial vehicle fleet currently includes more than 400 Carrier Transicold units, which have been specified over the past eight years.
For more information on Carrier Transicold and its products and services, visit www.carriertransicold.co.uk. Follow Carrier Transicold on Twitter: @SmartColdChain.
About Carrier Transicold
Carrier Transicold helps improve transport and shipping of temperature controlled cargoes with a complete line of equipment and services for refrigerated transport and cold chain visibility. For more than 45 years, Carrier Transicold has been an industry leader, providing customers around the world with advanced, energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable container refrigeration systems and generator sets, direct-drive and diesel truck units, and trailer refrigeration systems. Carrier Transicold is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp., a leading provider to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide. For more information, visit www.carriertransicold.co.uk. Follow Carrier on Twitter: @SmartColdChain.
About Waitrose
Waitrose & Partners has 348 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 65 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. It combines the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop – dedicated to offering quality food that has been responsibly sourced, combined with high standards of customer service. Waitrose & Partners is an employee-owned business – all employees are Partners and have a say in how the business is run. Waitrose & Partners exports products to more than 50 countries worldwide and has nine shops which operate under licence in the Middle East. The retailer’s omnichannel business includes the online grocery service, Waitrose.com, as well as specialist online shops including Waitrosecellar.com for wine and Waitroseflorist.com for plants and flowers.
