Danfoss recently opened the doors to the Application Development Center within the Smart Store supermarket, which is part of a full Decarbonization Park including several innovation centers for applications such as heat pumps, heat recovery, next-generation district heating networks, and data centers. The new Application Development Center will offer the cooling and heating industry the opportunity to access state-of-the-art test facilities and expert support, for field testing new components and cloud technologies for both small and large applications.

Danfoss has built a new Smart Store supermarket at its headquarters in Nordborg, Denmark, which will lead the way for climate-friendly food retail with energy-efficient heating and cooling technologies. The store is expected to be 50% more energy efficient than a traditional store, and 90% of the space heating needs for the entire store will be provided by a heat recovery unit that captures excess heat produced by the cooling systems. The supermarket has two refrigeration systems that run independently, ensuring that product testing does not interfere with the operations of the supermarket. The store’s refrigeration and comfort cooling systems run exclusively on natural refrigerants (CO₂), which have the lowest possible GWP score.

Refrigeration is a delicate balance. If too much cooling is used, energy is wasted, and if too little, there is a risk of food loss. With smart controls and digital monitoring, retailers can optimize capacity and demand, allowing them to respond to anomalies in a timely manner preventing energy and food losses. The store will be managed by Danfoss and ANEO Retail’s partnership, and their unique service model, "Energy as a Service (EaaS)," which allows grocery stores to subscribe to technical facilities as a service, reducing their operational expenses and time spent on issue management. The concept allows supermarkets to implement the most energy-efficient equipment without large investments and high up-front costs.

“The new Smart Store showcases the incredible possibilities we have ready today with existing solutions for natural refrigerants, energy efficiency, and sourcing renewables –all in one installation,” says Jürgen Fischer, president of Danfoss Climate Solutions. “We are proud to officially welcome customers and partners to the Application Development Center, to take the next steps together to reimagine the future and develop new heating and cooling technologies that pave the way towards zero emission food retail.”

The occasion was celebrated with an open house event for Danfoss partners and customers who have contributed to the site. Peder Gabrielsen from the European Environment Agency offered a keynote speech, followed by a site tour of the event led by Danfoss leadership.

“With the fluorinated gas (F-gas) regulation in Europe, we are seeing a reduction of F-gas emissions, and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol is driving the refrigerant transition at a global level. The example we see here is a good example of movement in the right direction. When energy efficiency and low global warming potential refrigerants work in tandem, we can vastly cut emissions from heating and cooling,” says Gabrielsen. “The need to use energy more efficiently and to reduce costs is constantly growing. Innovation like what we see here has a key role to play in finding the best solutions.”

To learn more about the Smart Store supermarket, register to attend Danfoss’ upcoming RETHINK Live event series, which takes place on September 7 and 14. As part of the online event, Dean Groff, the food retail services contractor manager at Danfoss, will present a case study on the Smart Store supermarket, which is leveraging smart technologies to reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency.