Nivalis Energy Group, formerly SolarEdge e-Mobility, will showcase a fully electrified semi-trailer featuring ECOOLTEC’s TM182 propylene (R1270)/CO2 (R744) transport refrigeration unit at the upcoming 2026 Transpotec Logitec trade fair in Milan.
ECOOLTEC will also attend the May 13‒16 event, introducing its sustainable transport refrigeration technology in Italy for the first time. U.S.-based Nivalis Energy Systems recently acquired SolarEdge e-Mobility, a producer of electric renewable-powered systems for refrigerated trailers.
“The semi-trailer combines Nivalis Energy Europe’s expertise in photovoltaics and electromobility with [our] sustainable transport refrigeration,” ECOOLTEC said. “After the show, customers will be able to hire the e-trailer with its multi-temperature body for in-service evaluation.”
The truck: Italian vehicle manufacturer L’idealcar built the semi-trailer, integrating Nivalis Energy Europe’s e-power systems with ECOOLTEC’s TM182 refrigeration unit.
- The trailer features an electric motor and battery pack that can power the onboard transport refrigeration unit and provided propulsion.
- The trailer draws electric power from three sources: a roof-mounted photovoltaic system, an electric axle recovering kinetic energy during coasting or deceleration and a plug-in land-based cable, all of which feed a battery that supplies power to the transport refrigeration unit.
- “This significantly reduces the energy consumption of the transport refrigeration unit and thus the operating costs of the trailer,” ECOOLTEC said. “A telematic system allows the unit’s status to be monitored and energy generation and consumption savings to be analyzed.”
The refrigeration technology: Mounted on the roof, the TM182 unit incorporates a hermetically sealed primary propylene circuit linked via a brazed plate heat exchanger to a secondary CO2 circuit serving the system’s evaporators. Each circuit contains roughly 0.7kg of R1270 and 1kg of CO2.
- With variable speed scroll compressors in a horizontal design, the unit uses 60‒80% less energy than conventional transport refrigeration powered by a standalone diesel engine, according to ECOOLTEC.
- “Thanks to the specially developed, extremely compact frequency converter, ECOOLTEC units can be combined with all truck powertrains ‒ regardless of whether they are powered by diesel, compressed or liquefied natural gas or electricity,” the company said.
- At Transpotec Logitec, ECOOLTEC will present two flat multi-temperature evaporators: E1312 for one-to-two compartment splits and E1221 for one-to-one configurations, alongside a G30 generator that links the truck engine to the transport refrigeration unit, as well as a new remote control unit.
Early adopter: As part of its plan to phase out all HFCs by 2035, the U.K.’s largest supermarket chain, Tesco, purchased two trucks equipped with ECOOLTEC’s refrigeration unit in spring 2024.
- In September 2025 the chain expanded its investment in the technology. “The two ECOOLTEC vehicles we already operate have proven their worth, and we look forward to adding five more to our fleet,” said Cliff Smith, Fleet Engineering Manager at Tesco.
- ECOOLTEC’s TM182 transport refrigeration machine won the Innovation of the Year/Refrigeration award at the 2023 ATMOsphere Europe Summit. ATMOsphere is the publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com.
Quotable: “Our revolutionary transport refrigeration systems, which are currently unique in the heavy commercial vehicle segment, demonstrate that it is already possible to realize the entire cold chain without f-gases and therefore virtually zero transport refrigeration emissions,” said Henning Altebäumer, CEO ECOOLTEC. “Having just received the certification to market our mono- and multi-temperature systems in Italy for demanding distribution and long-haul transport, all fleet operators can now benefit from this offering.”
“Our revolutionary transport refrigeration systems, which are currently unique in the heavy commercial vehicle segment, demonstrate that it is already possible to realize the entire cold chain without f-gases.”
Henning Altebäumer, CEO ECOOLTEC
