Keeping meat and juice fresh can be an expensive business for supermarkets. The energy used by chilled aisles can account for 40 to 60 per cent of a store’s total energy bill, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
With the retail industry looking to reduce its carbon footprint, some supermarkets, including Aldi and Lidl, are turning to renewable energy technologies, such as , and , to provide power to stores and distribution centres.
The problem is, while these energy sources are clean, they’re subject to interruptions. Solar panels require the sun to shine, but supermarkets need to keep refrigeration units running throughout the night.
“Replacing conventional is essentially moving from a reliable, centralised infrastructure to a decentralised and intermittent energy supply,” says Stefan Schauss, president of CellCube Energy Storage Systems, which is headquartered in Toronto. The company is aiming to become North America’s leading producer of vanadium electrolytes for the energy storage industry.
“Energy storage promises to solve all the quality and stability of supply issues for uninterrupted production in the wholesale and retail chain,” Mr Schauss adds.
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