Ferdinand Bierbichler is one of the first companies to purchase the TM182 transport refrigeration machine made by ECOOLTEC. The food distribution company will equip twelve trucks with this innovative refrigeration system this year.
The ECOOLTEC TM182 is powered purely electrically by the in-house alternator on the truck engine and produces up to 98 percent fewer emissions than diesel-powered refrigeration systems. It uses only the natural, hydrocarbon-based refrigerants CO2 (R744) and propene (R1270) with ultra-low greenhouse warming potentials of 1 and 3 for refrigeration, while the widely used comparable systems’ ability to operate is dependent on the refrigerants (hydrofluorocarbons) R452A and R410A with GWP values (Global Warming Potential) of up to 2,200, whose chemical properties in the atmosphere are also responsible for the formation of environmentally harmful substances such as trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and perfluoroalkoxy polymers (PFA).
Bierbichler put the first truck with an ECOOLTEC system into operation some time ago now. “The refrigeration system has been performing reliably. The system cools very efficiently and quickly reaches the set temperature. This is ideal for our operation with numerous unloading points, many door openings and high-quality, perishable cargo,” reports Fritz Taucher. Ferdinand Bierbichler is a food wholesaler and full-range supplier. The company maintains a large product range of approximately 17,100 items. Bierbichler transports frozen goods as well as fresh produce, fish and dry goods. For distribution in regional transport, the company uses 15-tonne trucks with multi-temp refrigerated box bodies.
Thanks to ECOOLTEC’s transport refrigeration system, all operators of medium and heavy refrigerated vehicles can realise a truly F-gas-free supply chain. This offers them other advantages besides a dramatic reduction in their CO2 footprint. Regulation does not restrict the use of natural refrigerants. Therefore, unlike F-Gas refrigerants, they are not affected by a ban or shortage, which can jeopardise the operational life expectancy of transport refrigeration systems if suitable refrigerants are no longer available for servicing or are subject to a significant increase in their purchase price.
The hydrocarbons used by ECOOLTEC for refrigeration are also characterised by a high energy efficiency of the refrigeration process and thus enable transport refrigeration systems to benefit from both high performance and high economic efficiency.
Important to stress the ECOOLTEC design pays very close attention to maximum operational safety. The natural refrigerant R1270 used for refrigeration circulates in a fully hermetic circuit, and the refrigeration process takes place exclusively outside the cargo hold “in the open”. In the box body, the natural refrigerant CO2 also circulates in a fully hermetic circuit to ensure accurate temperature control.
