Sainsbury’s Takes Delivery of Prototype Natural Refrigerant Trailer Refrigeration Unit
The first of three natural refrigerant trailer prototypes enter service in the UK
WARRINGTON, England — UK retailer Sainsbury’s has become the first customer to take delivery of Carrier Transicold’s prototype natural refrigerant trailer unit — a new generation of transport refrigeration system for trailers that operates exclusively with CO2 refrigerant, which has a global warming potential (GWP) of just one.
The delivery marks the first of three units to join the Sainsbury’s fleet this year as part of a three-year technology field trial. It builds on the success of a 2013 pilot, which saw the supermarket operate a modified road version of Carrier Transicold’s NaturaLINE™ refrigeration system for ocean containers — making it the first naturally refrigerated trailer operating anywhere in the world, said the company.
The new prototype system uses advanced technology from the NaturaLINE refrigeration system, assembled inside a traditional Carrier Vector™ unit chassis and powered by the same patented E-Drive™ all-electric technology as Carrier Transicold’s existing Vector range.