Green transition in Salling Group
Salling Group invests in heat pumps
Denmark's largest retailing group Salling Group invests in heat pumps for their Netto supermarkets and their main warehouse.
At Salling Group, green transition is a strategic focus area, and DKK 2.4 billion have been allocated to, among other things, replace fossil fuels with heat pumps. Solar delivers heat pumps to all Netto supermarkets in Denmark, Germany and Poland, and most recently, Netto’s central warehouse in Germany has been energy renovated with heat pumps from Solar’s subsidiary Thermonova.
20,000 square meters of warehouse at Netto in Germany now run on heat pumps instead of gas. The reason for the change was less about economy and more about social responsibility, says Martin Brix Kortegaard, who is Energy Manager at Salling Group.
“Historically, the gas price has been so low in Germany that it was not immediately a good business case to choose electricity over gas - but we want to get rid of fossil fuels, even if it sometimes is a more expensive solution.”
He explains that the company has joined Science Based Target, where they commit to reducing their own CO2 footprint.
“A large part can be reduced by replacing fossil fuels with e.g. heat pumps, so we made the first Thermonova project on Netto’s main warehouse in Germany. In this case, we have reduced our CO2 emissions by 510 tons,” he says.
The project consists of two Thermonova heat pumps with a total capacity of 880 kW, and Solar has been the project manager on the task.
The choice fell on Thermonova’s products, because they, among other things, offer natural refrigerant and high COP as some of the few.
“We have decided in the group that we only want to use natural refrigerant, so Thermonova was a good choice,” explains Bjarne Dahl, who is head of operations in Salling Group.
“We needed a partner, who was both project manager, ensured calculations, contractors, products, etc. This has been Solar’s role, and they have coordinated and taken a good responsibility. We have had a good handover and introduction to the products, and generally we have had a very smooth collaboration,” says Bjarne Dahl.
Salling Group has also chosen Solar as the supplier for their smaller heat pump projects, where all Netto stores in Denmark, Germany and Poland will have heat pumps installed.
About Thermonova and Solar
Thermonova develops and supplies a new and different type of modular heat pump that allows for large and energy-efficient heating solutions, especially in industry, warehouses, halls and large office buildings. In March 2023, Solar acquired 51 per cent of the shares in Thermonova, which means that sales of heat pumps and larger projects now go through Solar under the climate and energy department Solar Industrial Solutions.
In March 2023, Solar acquired 51 per cent of the shares in Thermonova, which means that sales of heat pumps and larger projects now go through Solar under the climate and energy department Solar Industrial Solutions.
Other customers with a Thermonova solution
Case
Industrial heat pumps at ECCO
Danish shoe manufacturer ECCO has energy renovated their head office and warehouse in Tønder, Denmark. Fossil fuels have been replaced with energy from heat pumps, which emit significantly less CO2. A step towards the ambition of achieving energy neutrality at the group's headquarters by 2024.
Case
Folk high school reduces climate footprint
Sustainability is very important at Brandbjerg Folk High School – both as a main subject, in the kitchen and when the old buildings are to be renovated. The gas boiler has been replaced with a heat pump, and in the autumn, another heat pump will be connected to the system.
