Danfoss builds supermarket of the future at its headquarters in Nordborg

Danfoss builds supermarket of the future at its headquarters in Nordborg

Danfoss hosted a ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of “The Smart Store” supermarket at its headquarters in Nordborg, Germany that will be filled with the latest and most energy-efficient refrigeration and heating technology.

Instead of allowing the heat produced by cooling cabinets and freezers to go to waste, it will be captured and reused to provide heating for the supermarket and the local community through district energy. The cooling system in the new supermarket will also run on carbon dioxide – a natural refrigerant – which helps to reduce the overall climate impact. The supermarket will be completed in the summer of 2023.

Kristian Strand, President, Refrigeration & A/C Controls, Danfoss Climate Solutions says: “The goal of the project is to show how easy and profitable it is to decarbonize our economy and ensure reliable and sustainable energy use. Heating and cooling are the largest energy consumers in supermarkets. The solutions we are building here today represent the core of Danfoss solutions and will showcase how we can approach zero energy use in food retail together.”

Additionally, this site will serve as an Application Development Center where Danfoss will work together with partners to co-develop new technologies and explore interfaces in the energy system surrounding energy storage.

“We want to demonstrate to customers and partners how energy saving solutions work in real life. We want to show the greenest energy is the energy we don’t use or reuse. That’s why visits to supermarkets will be one of the major attractions when the IEA delegates arrive in Denmark in June for the 7^th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency,” Jürgen Fischer, President, Danfoss Climate Solutions adds. 

BALS, Brugsen for Als and Sundeved, Denmark’s largest independent supermarket association, will rent the building from Danfoss and will install a COOP 365discount supermarket. BALS, which works together with COOP, has a total of 13 stores in the area around Sønderborg in Denmark and since 2015 has consistently reduced the consumption of energy in its stores. So far, they have cut 44 percent of their total CO₂ emissions. Therefore, it was a natural next step that BALS became a partner in the project.

Lars G. Andersen, managing Director of BALS, says: “We already have a lot of experience, but the energy price spikes have put further pressure on the need for change. Our 13 supermarkets have been modernized and we have nearly no cost for heating in the stores because the heat comes from our freon-free refrigeration systems, solar cells, and heat pumps. It is an advantage with the current energy prices, and it reduces our CO₂ emissions. We are proud to be part of one of the most energy-efficient supermarkets in the world and test the solutions that can help buildings become climate neutral.” 

Facts:

• An OK gas station and a car wash will be located on the premises.
• The entire supermarket area and surroundings will be around 14,000 m².
• The COOP 365 store will be almost 1,500 m2.

Danfoss owns all installations in the store, allowing continuous monitoring and optimization of systems. In this setting, Danfoss continuously tests applications, new products and uses the building as a showroom and training facility for visitors and customers.