GEA bags award for heat pump at poultry farm

Britain’s Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Magazine (RAC) recognised German manufacturer GEA for its ammonia-based refrigeration plant that also heats water at a large Northern Irish poultry producer.

Kenneth Hoffmann, GEA (centre) accepts the award on behalf of GEA. Also pictured Steve Smith, Smith Brothers Stores, on the left and Joel Dommett, a British comedian, who was on the TV show 'I’m a celebrity get me out of here', on the right.

Credit: RAC Magazine

At Refrigeration & Air Conditioning (RAC )magazine’s Cooling Industry Awards (hosted by the British magazine in London on 26 September 2018), German manufacturer GEA was recognised for installing an ammonia-based refrigeration plant that also heats water at a Moy Park site (a Northern Irish poultry producer).

Moy Park is the largest poultry meat producer in Northern Ireland and is one of the 15 largest food companies in the UK, according to the firm. It also makes vegetarian products like spring rolls and onion rings.

The Cooling Industry award went to Moy Park in the category of ‘Building Energy Project’ for its ability to reduce the company’s energy use by reclaiming the heat from the ammonia refrigeration system (a “prime example of innovation and significant energy savings” cited by RAC, according to GEA).

"This project was based on an analysis of Moy Park's equipment and environmental requirements study. GEA delivered a perfectly worked out solution that exceeded the customer's expectations,” said a member of the RAC Cooling Industry Awards jury, according to GEA. “The old, existing system was retained, but modified with the GEA solution. This is how these results, measurable in terms of evaluation figures, came about.”

A 1.5 MW heat pump system recompressed the exhaust gases from the ammonia system, which were then heated to 67°C.

Moy Park has since shut down two of its boilers for making hot water at the site and reduced the gas consumption of the other two.