A French poultry and meat processor reduced its CO2e emissions by 83% and its energy usage by 12.5% by optimizing its heating systems, including ammonia (R717) heat pumps, and implementing control changes, said Ben Churchill, Chief Strategy Officer of CoolPlanet, an organization that supports businesses on their path to net zero emissions.
The changes also resulted in annual cost savings of $250,000 (Є 227,658) with a payback period of less than five months and zero capital expenditure for the company, Lambert Dodard Chancereul (LDC), a family-owned agri-food group with a workforce of over 23,500 across 93 production plants.
Churchill reported these findings during a keynote presentation at the ATMOsphere (ATMO) America Summit on natural refrigerants. The conference took place on June 12–13, 2023, in Washington D.C., and was organized by ATMOsphere, publisher of Ammonia21.com.
“By carefully examining and finetuning our operational systems, we unlock significant savings potential,” said Churchill. “Sustainability and profitability aren’t separate tracks; they’re interwoven threads in the fabric of every progressive enterprise.”
LDC’s initial challenge lay in its existing energy infrastructure. Despite having a setup with natural refrigerant equipment, including four Sabroe ammonia heat pumps, it was also using a gas boiler. Thus LDC was generating high gas emissions while trying to maintain a desired low-side temperature between -9 and -11°C (15.8 and 12.2°F).
Comprehensive analysis
Churchill implemented CoolPlanet OS, a system that facilitated a comprehensive analysis of LDC’s electricity usage, energy usage from gas and CO2e emissions. The deep dive examination led the team to essential findings: gas energy was being more frequently used than green electricity, leading to higher CO2e emissions.
Recognizing this imbalance, Churchill and his team devised a strategy to optimize the use of heat pumps and minimize reliance on gas boilers. The team was able to build a baseline “digital twin model” to mirror the performance of heat pumps and the gas boiler. Compressor performance was examined simultaneously.
Following a thorough evaluation, the team identified opportunities for implementing control changes to optimize the use of heat pumps and minimize the reliance on the gas boiler. The results were dramatic: in just three days after the control changes were introduced, there was an 83% reduction in CO2 scope 1 emissions, a 26% decrease in total scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 12.5% decrease in in energy use. These successes, if replicated across the company’s other sites, could save millions, said Churchill.
While LDC focused on reducing scope 1 gas emissions, refrigerant leakage also contributes to end users’ scope 1 emissions, noted Churchill. These also form part of a manufacturer’s scope 3 emissions – those from the supply chain and usage of products.
“To truly make a significant impact, the adoption of natural refrigerants should be integrated with other initiatives,” said Churchill. “These include efforts to address energy supply or scope 2 emissions and efforts to reduce the embedded carbon throughout the rest of the supply chain.”
The energy use of the equipment and its optimization fall under scope 2 for the end user and scope 3 for the manufacturer, he added.
Churchill also addressed the need for natural refrigerants in decarbonization last year at the ATMOsphere Europe conference.
“By carefully examining and finetuning our operational systems, we unlock significant savings potential. Sustainability and profitability aren’t separate tracks; they’re interwoven threads in the fabric of every progressive enterprise.”
Ben Churchill, Chief Strategy Officer of CoolPlanet
