Cold chain energy costs double
UK: Electricity spend for the UK’s cold storage facilities has more than doubled between 2021 and 2022, according to a new report published by the Cold Chain Federation.
The new analysis in The Cold Chain Report 2022 shows that the cold storage sector’s electricity costs have grown from £560.6 million in 2021 to an estimated £1.1bn for 2022. The report also shows that volume of UK cold storage capacity has now topped 40,000,000m3, increasing 10% since 2021.
“With energy prices rocketing, the cost of refrigerating cold storage facilities has soared too despite the great progress our industry has made over the past decade in improving energy efficiency and investing in renewables,” said Cold Chain Federation policy director Tom Southall.
The Cold Chain Report 2022 brings together new research with existing datasets to present the industry’s key facts and figures, including both cold storage and temperature-controlled distribution.
The report reveals that the East Midlands has the highest number of cold chain facilities (175), followed by South East England (152) and then Yorkshire and Humber (146). The average size of UK cold store is now 95,693m3.
