Danish manufacturer Advansor has launched a new version of its SteelXL CO₂ (R744) rack with a maximum cooling capacity of 2.7MW (767TR), 1.9MW (540TR) of freezing, up to 4MW (1,137TR) of heating and 0.5MW (142TR) of air-conditioning, all on one frame.

Along with the larger capacities, the company said the unit’s piping has been improved, reducing pressure loss and increasing energy efficiency.

“The [new] system requires fewer units for installation and maintenance, thus reducing both investment and operational costs,” Advansor said. “The natural refrigerant CO₂ eliminates the need for fossil fuels and is fully compliant with the updated EU f-gas regulation.”

Details: The SteelXL rack can provide a max capacity of up to 50MW (14,217TR) when combined in parallel.

• According to Advansor, the unit comes “highly configurable” with a 7m (23ft) rack length, easily handled with a crane or forklift. Previously, it came in a 9m (29.5ft) frame.
• The energy-saving options include using a chiller connection, COP hunter control strategy, ejector, liquid power cooler, permanent magnetic motors and ultra-low superheat.
• The design life of the unit is 25 years.

Pharma application: Last year, Norwegian contractor Mandal Kjøle Service installed two SteelXL CO₂ units in a GE Healthcare facility in Lindesnes, Norway. The units replaced electric and fossil fuel boilers and an f-gas cooling system containing 1,200kg of R134a.

• The two identical SteelXL units combine freezing, cooling and heating to provide the GE facility with 1,400kW (398TR) of cooling capacity at 3/10°C (37.4/50°F), 100kW (28TR) of freezing capacity at −15/−11°C (5/12.2°F) and 1,890kW (537TR) of heat recovery at 30/60°C (86/140°F).
• On a September day with the warm glycol operating in a part load, one unit operated with a COP of 6.6 and the other with a COP of 7.7, according to Anders Mønstead, Business Development Manager at Advansor. Mønstead shared details of the project during a presentation at the ATMOsphere (ATMO) Europe Summit 2024, organized by ATMOsphere, publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com, and held in Prague, Czech Republic.
• “It’s a magical thing,” Mønstead said. “When we need to produce heat, we increase the pressure. When we don’t, we bypass the heat exchangers and go subcritical. We can get the best efficiency for the load.”

Other advancements: Advansor has recently announced upgrades to other CO₂ products.

• Earlier this month, the manufacturer launched an upgrade of its CO₂ ValuePack refrigeration unit, which raised the standard operating pressure from 120 to 130bar (1,740 to 1,885psi).
• At Chillventa 2024, Advansor announced the addition of a cooling function to its CO₂ ValueBox heat pump for commercial applications.

Quotable: “In three years, the capacity of our CO₂ systems has doubled,” said Mønstead. “I see the capacity [of CO₂ systems] only increasing.”

“I see the capacity [of CO₂ systems] only increasing.”

Anders Mønstead, Business Development Manager at Advansor