GEA develops new, transcritical CO2 marine refrigeration technology

Contract signed between GEA and SWS. From left to right: Mr. Ma Guangtian (Project Manager Purchase & Supply Department, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding), Mr. Sun Xiangdong (Procurement Manager, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. Marc Prinsen (GEA Head of APC U Marine) and Mr. Gianmarco Bonicelli della Vita (GEA Sales Engineer)

In response to both national and international regulations and voluntary environmental protection measures, more and more environmentally-friendly refrigerants are being used in the marine business.

Based on more than 100 years of experience in the refrigeration business, Düsseldorf, Germany, headquartered GEA has developed a new, transcritical CO2 refrigeration technology for use on seagoing vessels.

Interest in this technology is growing steadily. Under a contract signed last year with P&O Cruises, The environmentally friendly refrigeration technology has already been installed on board the 2,000 passenger P&O Cruises ship Arcadia, where it provides energy-efficient refrigeration for all the ship’s food and beverage refrigeration systems. Further orders for its transcritical CO2 refrigeration technology have now been received by GEA for two new cruise ships to be built in China and for a Dutch fishing trawler, the second largest in the world.

Environmentally friendly refrigeration technology for cruise ships built in China

In May this year , GEA signed a contract for transcritical CO2 refrigeration technology with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS), China. SWS is a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC). SWS is building the first two cruise ships ever built in China. They will work for the new Chinese brand CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping Ltd., which is part of the world’s largest commercial cruise company. The agreement between GEA and SWS provides for the supply of energy-efficient refrigeration and freezing for all food and beverage refrigeration equipment on two cruise ships. The first 133,500 GT ship will be delivered in 2023.

“The cruise market is booming worldwide. In China alone, growth to 4.5 million Chinese cruise passengers is forecast by 2020. This will be the first newly built cruise ship to be equipped with this type of sustainable technology. This is a really important reference project and we believe it will lead to a major spin-off,” says Marc Prinsen, GEA’s Head of Application Center Utilities Marine.

Equipping the world’s second largest trawler

But not only the cruise industry relies on GEA’s transcritical CO2 technology. Cooling systems are the backbone of every fishing ship, especially when it comes to fishing trawlers. And, of course, trawlers also have to comply with global environmental agreements.

GEA has signed a contract with UAB Atlantic High Seas Fishing Company which is a 100 % daughter company of GEA’s long-standing Dutch customer Parlevliet & van der Plas. Under this contract, GEA equipped the FV Margiris, the world’s second largest trawler of its kind with an NH3 / CO2 cascade plant.

“At GEA, we are once again one of the pioneers in this technology,” says Prinsen. “We are convinced that with our transcritical CO2 technology we will win further orders and customers.”

“In recent years,” adds Prinsen, “many investments have been made in fishing trawlers, especially in Russia. Companies are building fewer but larger vessels, and many are in a situation where they have to renew their vessels because they are reaching the end of their life cycle. These new trawlers must meet environmental standards. We would like to help with GEA solutions.”

GEA’s transcritical CO2 solution

The use of environmentally friendly, sustainable cooling systems with environmentally friendly CO2 is relatively new in the marine business as it is difficult to develop flexible CO2 cooling systems that can be safely installed in the confined and mobile environments of seagoing vessels. Cooling systems using environmentally friendly CO2 as an alternative refrigerant to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are already in use in the retail sector.

The modular transcritical CO2 plants operate with multiple GEA Bock compressors, ideal for the high pressures of CO2 refrigeration plants. Redundancy is built into the system so that the system does not fail in the event of a fault with one or more compressors. GEA’s solutions can be tailored to almost any available space on board and are designed to operate safely, robustly and reliably even in difficult weather conditions.