German CO2 (R744) refrigeration systems manufacturer Teko has announced it is establishing a new business unit for commercial and industrial R744 heat pumps and chillers.
Nadine Neuberger, Management Assistant and Head of Marketing at Teko, made the announcement during a presentation at the ATMOsphere (ATMO) Europe Summit 2024. The event was organized by ATMOsphere, publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com, and held in Prague from November 25–26.
“Our main focus is to increase natural refrigerants on the chiller and heat pump side,” said Neuberger. “There is a huge opportunity, and we have to serve it, which is why we built up an independent business unit for chillers and heat pumps.”
Teko manufactures CO2 condensing units and racks for food retailers and industrial applications under its ROXSTA brand, and its move into chillers and heat pumps was facilitated by the May acquisition of Vitalis by its parent company, the KKVB Group. The Canada-based Vitalis builds CO2 heat pumps and chillers under its Coolshift brand, which Teko now offers in Europe; Vitalis will offer Teko’s CO2 condensing units and racks in North America.
“Vitalis has deep knowledge in chillers and heat pumps, and there is a deep exchange of knowledge between our companies,” said Neuberger.
The Coolshift line
Vitalis’s Coolshift CO2 heat pumps have heating and cooling capacities ranging from 100kW to up to 3M (28 to up to 853TR) and can use air, water or ground heat sources. Their applications include district energy systems, food manufacturing and cold storage.
A 1.5MW (426TR) air-to-water Coolshift CO2 heat pump is currently being installed at the University of British Columbia (UBC)’s Okanagan Campus in Kelowna to serve the school’s district energy system.
The Coolshift CO2 chiller offers a max cooling capacity of 290kW (82TR). Heat recovery is standard, and the chiller has a maximum heating capacity of 300kW (85TR) and can supply hot water at up to 80°C (176°F). It can also be optioned with a carbon capture integration system to capture and store CO2 from fermentation; Vitalis says its chiller is designed to be used in breweries, dairies and glycol cooling systems.
Early installations
The person leading Teko’s entry into the chiller and heat pump sector is Roman Weingart, Manager of the Business Unit Heating and Cooling, who also spoke at ATMO Europe 2024. Weingart detailed some of Teko’s initial Coolshift installations, including one in Innsbruck, Austria, where a 77kW (21TR) ground-source water-to-water heat pump provides heating for a 500m2 (5,381ft2) warehouse and additional office buildings. Weingart did not say how large the office buildings were.
The temperature of the ground water ranges from 4–8°C (39–46.4°F), and the water temperature provided by the heat pump is between 32–42°C (89–107°F). The heat pump has a COP of 3.95, and Weingart noted that the heat pump has a low-pressure ejector with a “patent-pending control strategy” that controls the compressor and ejector to give “the maximum possible lift.”
“The evaporator is flooded, and, due to this, we have a smaller temperature difference between refrigerant and chilled water,” said Weingart. “Because of the ejector lift, we can run with the compressor on a much higher suction pressure than we have in the evaporator.”
Weingart noted that the difference between the suction pressure in the evaporator and compressor was 6.4bar (92psi), which led to an energy savings of between 8–15% compared to a similar system without a low-side ejector.
“The energy savings are 3.1kW per hour, and per year we can save 15,221kWh of electricity,” said Weingart. “These are cost saving compared to a system without an ejector of €3,044 [$2,906].”
Weingart said Teko’s other installations include a water-to-water heat pump and chiller that provides process heating and cooling – he did not provide further details about the application – and a 200kW (56TR) chiller for an aluminum plant in Iceland.
“Our main focus is to increase natural refrigerants on the chiller and heat pump side.”
Nadine Neuberger, Management Assistant and Head of Marketing at Teko
