Aldi has announced the opening of what it said is the U.K.’s largest supermarket distribution center, a 120,000m2 (1.2 million ft2) facility in Bardon, England, equipped with an 8.6MW (2,445TR) CO2 (R744) refrigeration system.
Details about the site’s refrigeration system were shared in a LinkedIn post by Ed Whinyates, Business Development Manager at Space Engineering Services, which designed and installed it. Whinyates said the Bardon distribution center has “multiple CO2 racks” installed in a plant room that serves 10 refrigerated areas. There is 1MW (284TR) of low-temperature capacity, 7.2MW (2,047TR) of medium-temperature capacity and 380kW (108TR) of high-temperature capacity distributed across 11 refrigeration systems.
“Multiple evaporators to all areas, RDM [resource data management] controls and leak detection,” Whinyates wrote. “The glycol underfloor heater mat system utilizes heat reclaim from the refrigeration plate heat exchangers.”
The first delivery from the Bardon site was recently completed, and Aldi said that when it’s fully operational the facility will serve nearly 350 stores and handle 7 million pallets annually. The facility cost more than £500 million (€578 million/$673 million) and will employ upward of 1,000 people.
The company said the Bardon distribution center is the lowest carbon density warehouse in the Aldi South Group, which currently has 84 distribution centers in 10 countries. It is equipped with 19,000 rooftop solar panels that will “at times” be able to meet all of its electricity needs, the retailer added.
