Cooling with gas

Cold Logic is claiming a refrigeration first. With the help of Yanmar Energy Australia and Eschenfelder KKU, the team has fired up what it says is the first gas-driven refrigeration (GDR) system in Australia.

The project is situated at a beverage manufacturer at McLaren Vale, South Australia. It features a refrigeration system for glycol down to a temperature of -6˚C.

Cold Logic’s Dr Michael Riese, M.AIRAH, says that GDR down to -6˚C is a new development that has only been released in Europe in the last few years. The system has been available in Australia since ARBS 2018, but this is the first actual project that is going online.

“The German OEM for the glycol side of the system wants to ensure that they have expert support in country, which is where Cold Logic is partnering with Yanmar Energy Australia as the local distributor,” Riese says.

GDR could fill a gap in the Australian market for locations that have limited electrical power.

“The current example is exactly that,” says Riese. “The client would have required a costly power upgrade if they had gone full electrical. The room temperature is 2˚C, so an evaporative solution wasn’t possible either.”

Over the past 18 months, Yanmar Energy has seen a marked increase in installations of GDR systems for chilled-water applications at around 5˚C. Riese says that this is partly driven by energy savings.

“GDR is also more energy-efficient than electrical systems when considering the whole energy cycle.” says Riese. “And more and more consultants and engineers are realising the benefits.”