Three weeks after its world premiere at Solutrans 2017, Carrier Transicold’s new compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered Supra multi-temperature truck refrigeration prototype unit has won the Sustainable Innovation award from Stratégie Logistique. The prototype unit also received the bronze Innovation award at Solutrans. The new unit is a high performance, sustainable solution that helps significantly reduce emissions and increase operator efficiencies. Carrier Transicold is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp.
“It is with great pride that we accept the Sustainable Innovation award,” said Bertrand Gueguen, president, Truck and Trailer International. “The Supra CNG-powered unit is a sustainable and efficient solution to support the activities of our customers in urban distribution. Our new unit will contribute to the energy transition related to refrigerated transport and provide a simple solution to help ease our customers’ daily challenges regarding traffic and air quality regulations in urban areas.”
The Sustainable Innovation award is sponsored by Stratégie Logistique, a transport and logistics trade magazine, and judged by a jury composed of industry experts and professionals. The Supra CNG-powered refrigeration unit was evaluated based on the following criteria: exemplary or innovative product, environmental benefits, social or societal interest, economic interest, and reproducibility. Compared to compression ignition diesel engines, the overall benefits include:
- Up to 95 per cent reduction in particle emissions
- Up to 70 per cent reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions
- Up to 20 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
- Reduction of noise, vibrations, odors and smoke, improving operator and neighboring community comfort
- Possibility of using biogas made of organic waste, further reducing CO2 emissions
Designed to use a single fuel source to power both the engine on a CNG-powered truck and the refrigeration unit, the Supra unit requires just a single refill point for both, which can save time and money and help increase operator productivity.
The Supra unit is ideal for urban distribution, offering fresh and frozen multi-temperature applications in up to three compartments. Fitted with an independent tank for the natural gas engine of the refrigeration unit, the CNG-powered unit maintains cold chain integrity, allowing for full autonomy of the refrigeration unit even when the truck is idling.