ON THE IMPORTANCE OF COOLING: The Sleeping Giant Awakens! Kostadin Fikiin (Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria) TU SOFIA
Role of Heat and Cold in Human History Heat and cold are of the same physical nature but played different roles in the human civilisation. Prometheus - glorified in immortal works of art. Pioneers of artificial cold - never praised in a piece of art as a token of gratitude. In the industrial era - cooling and refrigeration - a powerful instrument for improving the quality of life (often underestimated).
Artificial Cold in the Global Economy 1927 Today Domestic refrigerators and freezers worldwide > 1.5 billion Retail refrigeration systems (condensing units, stand-alone equipment and centralised systems) > 90 million
Artificial Cold in the Global Economy Refrigerated transport: Over 4 million vehicles (vans, trucks, semi-trailers or trailers) More than 1.2 million containers
Artificial Cold in the Global Economy Air-conditioning systems of different types and capacities: over 600 million + 700 million mobile units Residential, commercial and industrial heat pumps (including reversible air conditioners) > 160 million Medical applications: > 25 000 MRI scanners
Artificial Cold in the Global Economy Over 110 LNG receiving terminals, 92 liquefaction trains, along with a LNG tanker fleet of 421 vessels.
Leisure and sports: over 13 500 ice rinks worldwide; bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks. Cryogenic technologies in powerful particle accelerators, thermonuclear reactors, etc.
Continuous and Ubiquitous Cold Chain for Perishable Foods and Pharmaceuticals
Refrigerated Food Processing and Preservation Paramount post-harvest and post-mortem technique to keep the nutritional resources with no reasonable alternative. All other treatments - as supplements, never as substitutes.
Food Refrigeration Statistics Worldwide food output: 6.3 billion tonnes per year (in the 2010s) Products that need refrigerated processing: 2 billion tonnes Effectively refrigerated: 400 million tonnes only Some 552 million m 3 of refrigerated food storage warehouses are available over the world Annual global production of various frozen foods: 50 million tonnes (in the beginning of 2010s), plus 20 million tonnes of ice creams and 30 million tonnes of fish, with a remarkable growth of 10 % every year The cost of all refrigerated foodstuffs around the world exceeds 3.5 times the USA military budget. FAO estimates that food production should increase globally by 70% to feed an additional 2.3 billion people by 2050.
Map of Large Refrigerated Warehouses (over 500 kw) across EU 28
Number of all facilities explored Indicative power consumed by all facilities (MW) Actual power consumed by all facilities (MW) Number of large facilities* (MW) Indicative power consumed by large facilities* (MW) Actual power consumed by large facilities* (MW) Refrigerated food facilities across EU Country Austria 20 13,78 10 10,43 Belgium 22 17,91 0,49 14 15,72 Bulgaria 14 6,47 4 4,70 Cyprus 5 1,19 0 0,00 Czech Republic 8 2,45 2 1,32 Denmark 28 17,34 12 12,84 Estonia 4 4,32 2 3,84 Finland 12 6,98 3 4,96 France 146 14,94 214,03 146 6,66 214,03 Germany 142 75,01 44 53,76 Greece 11 2,62 1 0,53 Hungary 11 2,16 1 0,59 Ireland 27 12,24 11 8,32 Italy 16 29,60 12 28,64 Latvia 6 3,83 2 2,91 Lithuania 7 5,41 3 4,55 the Netherlands 143 90,39 45 70,54 Poland 9 4,71 5 3,63 Portugal 19 10,43 7 7,06 Romania 11 10,31 6 8,81 Slovakia 5 6,28 1 5,08 Slovenia 5 1,02 0 0,00 Spain 31 59,05 24 56,33 Sweden 20 13,35 6 10,03 United Kingdom 327 292,97 13,66 142 232,03 12,53 Grand Total 1049 704,76 228,18 503 553,27 226,56 * with a power consumption over 0.5 MW
Current Challenges for Europe Useful innovations remain unimplemented in the common industrial practice. Insufficient attractiveness for high-skilled experts and young specialists as compared with the hi-tech branches. New EU member states and accession countries need more refrigeration capacities and inexpensive equipment to make their economies more competitive. The EU is still behind the USA as regards the consumption of frozen foods per inhabitant. Annual per capita consumption of frozen foods (in the 2010s)
Cold Economy: Facts and Figures The refrigeration sector (including air conditioning) accounts for about 17% of the worldwide electricity consumption. The global annual sales of refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat-pump equipment approx. 280 billion EUR. The sector creates jobs for almost 12 million employees around the world. A 70% increase in the cooling needs of the European building sector is expected by 2030. Refrigeration and heat pump systems are easily prone to integrating Renewable Energy Sources (RES). Cooling and refrigeration must form part of all sustainability-enhancing programmes!
RES-Powered Refrigeration The 9 MW solar array on the rooftop of a refrigerated warehouse at the Gloucester Marine Terminal in New Jersey
RES in Refrigerated Warehousing Solar park at the U.S. Foods facility in La Mirada, California
Further Key Applications Process cooling Chemical and metallurgical industries Power engineering Brewery (40% power usage for refrigeration) huge consumption of energy and water, not always well estimated
Renewable Energy Sources Sustainable cooling and refrigeration Smart Grids Low-carbon Economy Energy Conversion Innovation Energy Storage Energy Efficiency
European Commission: Energy Policy Strategies European Energy Union framework strategy (launched in 2015) Dedicated energy strategy for the Heating and Cooling sectors (initiated in February 2016)
Communication Paper Round table on cooling report Launch Event Founders and Supporters Observers
Cooling and refrigeration must always be on the top of the EU s energy agenda! Cool it Fast and Keep it Cool!
Welcome to CoolingEU and Good Luck! Contact: k.fikiin@tu-sofia.bg