6.3 Hydrocarbon Self-Contained Cases

Background

While CO2 systems represent the largest share of natural refrigerant-based refrigeration in European supermarkets, equipment using hydrocarbons – mostly propane (R290), but also propylene (R1270) and isobutane (R600a) – is another widely employed application. In contrast to CO2, typically used in racks or condensing units supporting separate display cases, hydrocarbons are mostly used in self-contained plug-in display cases, either air-cooled or water-cooled (via water/glycol loop systems). Hydrocarbons, not CO2, have become the de facto natural refrigerant for self-contained plug-in units.

In the modern era of refrigeration – post-1990 – hydrocarbons were the first natural refrigerants to gain major traction in the marketplace, but in the domestic, not commercial, sector. In 1992, global NGO Greenpeace spearheaded the development of the “GreenFreeze” home fridge, which uses no more than 150g of R600a. Initially available in Germany, GreenFreeze gained rapid acceptance in Europe and other locations, and today about 1 billion of the fridges are installed worldwide, according to Greenpeace.

By the 2000s, self-contained plug-in hydrocarbon refrigeration began to catch on in European supermarkets, with R290 the most commonly used refrigerant and R600a in smaller cases.

The first air-cooled R290 retail display cases appeared in 2004. Until about 2012, most of the R290 cases were ice cream chest freezers from brands like Unilever and Nestlé. The first semi-plug-in display cases (with a waterloop system to remove heat) appeared in 2014, followed by the first multi-deck R290 freezers.

Today, self-contained propane waterloop systems are enjoying wider uptake in commercial refrigeration applications globally – particularly in Europe, where manufacturers such as Freor have installed numerous waterloop systems.

In Europe, there are more opportunities to install R290 cases than in the U.S. – more stores use them throughout the sales floor, there are more small stores, and there is more conversion to natural refrigerants and more use of horizontal cases. Europe is at least five years ahead of the U.S. in the use of hydrocarbon cases.

The Market Today

As of June 2021, there were an estimated 2.7 million hydrocarbon-based store refrigeration cases in operation in Europe, based on production numbers from leading OEMs. This number also included an estimated 300,000 units beverage coolers.

Based on a survey of hydrocarbon cabinet OEMs, there will be an estimated 2.9 million cases installed at European stores by the end of 2022, a net increase of about 200,000 cases from June 2021.