11 August 2020
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LU-VE equipment at the Maersk cold store in St Petersburg, Russia
LU-VE Group has supplied the cooling system for the biggest food storage warehouse in Russia using CO2 refrigerant.
The Italian manufacturer was awarded the order by Danish merchant ship owner Maersk. In addition to being a leader in refrigerated food transportation, the company has built a logistics centre in St Petersburg for the conservation of fresh and frozen fruit, vegetables and other perishable goods ). The structure, built using advanced energy-saving technologies, has a surface area of 23,700 sqm. with storage for 50,000 tons and is capable of managing 200 trucks per day.
The centre is equipped with three areas at different temperatures (+13°, +6° and -25°) and is the largest Russian structure that uses CO2 for refrigeration. Value Defender unit coolers (produced at the Lipestk plant in Russia) guarantee significant energy savings by recovering the compression heat of the refrigerant fluid and are installed in the low- and medium-temperature cold rooms. The condensers are Big Giant models, produced in Uboldo, Italy, and equipped with electronic motors to minimize energy consumption. The St. Petersburg centre was built in collaboration with local partner Ingenium, which specialises in the construction of agri-food complexes, logistics and commercial centers with a low environmental impact.
Matteo Liberali, CEO of LU-VE Group, said: “We are very proud to have contributed to the construction of the Maersk logistics centre, which is the largest ever built in Russia to use green technology that uses carbon dioxide, a natural refrigerant fluid with low or no environmental impact.
"This contracted project confirms our growth in the country and the good collaboration with our local partners. The cold chain is a strategic sector because it ensures the continuous availability of goods and fresh or frozen products to the public. If we consider that 80% of the food products sent for consumption have been produced or processed at plants equipped with refrigeration equipment, we can understand the enormous importance of optimizing these systems, for the purpose of energy saving.
"Ahead of its time, LU-VE has been developing "green" and eco-sustainable products, to then focus -by now for over 15 years - on the use of natural refrigerant fluids with low environmental impact."
