Meal-kit provider HelloFresh has saved US$71,000 in refrigeration energy and maintenance costs over six months at one of its U.S. cold storage warehouses by using refrigeration management software from San Jose, California-based Axiom Cloud.
Axiom Cloud shared these results on November 15.
At its various international facilities, HelloFresh, based in Berlin, Germany, prepares ingredients for meals and delivers them to customers, who cook the meals using recipe cards.
Using Axiom Cloud’s Facilities Analyzer and Virtual Battery apps, HelloFresh was able to achieve benefits that include reducing refrigerant leak rates, avoiding refrigeration outages, applying energy efficiency recommendations, and generating demand-response revenue at the pilot facility, according to a case study released by Axiom Cloud.
Based on the results to date, HelloFresh is expecting a 3.1-times return on their annual subscription fees and a payback period of significantly less than one year from the apps, said Axiom Cloud, adding that HelloFresh will also be getting “a significant reduction” in both Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions.
“Axiom’s AI enables us to more intelligently maintain our refrigeration assets, increase uptime and save money month after month,” said Brandon Preston, Vice President of Safety, Maintenance and Reliability Engineering at HelloFresh. “We look forward to deploying Axiom’s apps in additional HelloFresh facilities throughout North America.”
Detailed visibility
The Facilities Analyzer gives HelloFresh “detailed visibility” into its refrigeration and energy data, said Axiom Cloud. HelloFresh receives notifications detailing energy-saving opportunities or slow refrigerant leaks that otherwise may go unnoticed. Notifications include the root cause, urgency, estimated financial impact, suggested actions and a snapshot of the most relevant data.
Facilities Analyzer addressed seven “unique anomalies” at HelloFresh’s fulfillment center, including solutions that ranged from a one-time fix that saved a few thousand dollars to a condenser head-pressure setpoint change that saved $23,000 per year in energy costs, according to the case study.
The Virtual Battery, by load shedding at the correct times, automatically helps HelloFresh reduce peak demand and shift energy consumption to off-peak hours. Demand Response revenue is expected to total over $9,000/year from this facility, and energy bills are expected to be reduced by over $20,000 per year, the case study said.
“Axiom Cloud apps are helping us significantly reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from our fulfillment centers,” said Jeffrey Yorzyk, Senior Director of Sustainability at HelloFresh. “By lowering our refrigerant leak rates and reducing energy consumption, Axiom Cloud moves us close to our sustainability goals.”
Prior to the HelloFresh installations, Axiom Cloud’s customers have been primarily in the food retail sector, with such retailers as Sprouts Farmers Market.
“Axiom’s AI enables us to more intelligently maintain our refrigeration assets, increase uptime, and save money month after month.”
Brandon Preston, HelloFresh
