Yoshio Ice goes CO₂ transcritical at cold storage facility in Japan

Continuing the upward growth trend of CO₂ transcritical systems in Japan's cold storage industry, Fukuoka-based Yoshio Ice Manufacturing & Refrigeration (Yoshio Ice) installed three Japanese manufactured CO₂ transcritical systems to serve one of its cold storage facilities in April 2018.

Three CO₂ Booster Super Green systems, provided by Tokyo-based manufacturer Nihon Netsugen Systems (NNS), operate at the facility, which Accelerate Japan magazine – published by shecco, which also publishes this webite – toured last June.

NNS publicly debuted the CO₂ Booster Super Green system last year at the FOOMA Japan 2018 exhibition.

The three CO₂ transcritical systems service one 4,700 m³ frozen storage room (at -25°C), as well as a 3,700 m³ cold room (at +5°C) and a 4,700 m³ loading area (at +5°C).

Tour attendees inspect the CO₂ Booster Super Green system provided by Japanese OEM Nihon Netsugen Systems.

Choosing CO₂ for safety

Shigekatsu Koganemaru, Yoshio Ice's current president, first heard about NNS's CO₂ transcritical system at a general meeting of the Japan Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (JARW) in 2016.

"After speaking with NNS and learning about the system's technical specifications in detail, I determined that the system had reached a sufficiently usable level. We then decided to install it at our new warehouse which was being planned at the time," Koganemaru told Accelerate Japan.

Koganemaru, who presented at last year's ATMOsphere Japan event, explained that as a board member of the Japan Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (JARW) and vice-chairman of the association's Environment and Safety Committee, he understands the important role to be played by natural refrigerants in this sector, both now and in the future.

2016 data from JARW showed that 68% of Japan's cold storage facilities currently use R22, while 14% use ammonia (NH₃)-CO₂ cascade systems and 11.3% use NH₃ systems.

Explaining his motivation to use a CO₂ transcritical system over an NH₃/CO₂ cascade or traditional NH₃ system, Koganemaru said that the decision was mainly motivated out of concern for his employees' safety.

Koganemaru, who has previously worked in factories where ammonia was considered dangerous to handle, said that safety standards used to be more ambiguous than they are now. He said it was once normal to be exposed to intense odours when liquid ammonia leaked from valves, sometimes leading to burns or other minor injuries.

Shigekatsu Koganemaru, president of Yoshio Ice, speaks with Accelerate Japan.

Energy savings vs. industry average

Koganemaru recently confirmed that based on data taken from April through December 2018, he projects annual average electricty consumption to be about 80 kWh per "facility ton" for the CO₂ transcritical system.

In Japan, one "facility ton" is equal to about 2.5 m³.

Koganemaru said that this represents a significant amount of energy savings compared to Japan's industry annual average of 150 kWh per "facility ton".

The savings are notable since the cold storage facility is located in the city of Fukuoka on Kyushu island, which is the southernmost of Japan's main islands.

The region experiences some of Japan's hottest and most humid climates with temperatures sometimes reaching 35°C during the summer months.

Inside Yoshio Ice's Fukuoka cold storage facility where the CO₂ transcritical systems were installed.

Natural refrigerant subsidies continuing into 2019

The installation of the CO₂ transcritical systems at Yoshio Ice were supported by subsidies provided by the Japanese government in FY2017.

"You could say in a way that the majority of the refrigerated warehouse industry consists of small companies," said Koganemaru.

"So for these companies, the replacement of factory equipment and machinery is a very big investment. That is why subsidies that bear the burden of half of the installation costs are very much appreciated."

These subsidies are expected to continue into next year with the Japanese Ministry of the Environment confirming in December that it has set the budget for FY2019 at ¥7.4 billion (€58 million).

Koganemaru said that as a board member of JARW, he is always working to petition the government to continue the natural refrigerant subsidy programme in Japan.

Koganemaru is scheduled to speak about Japan's cold storage industry and its use of natural refrigerants at the upcoming ATMOsphere Japan 2019 event, which will be held on 12 February in Tokyo.

To see the latest programme, click here.

To register for the event, click here.

This is an abridged version of the cover story from Accelerate Japan, Issue #20.

Accelerate Japan visits Fukuoka where two Japanese companies – Yoshio Ice Manufacturing & Refrigeration and Kawai Ice & Cold Storage – have installed CO₂-based refrigeration systems.