Shopping for Heat From the Local Supermarket?

• Main Author: Manescu, Luchian Gabriel
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: Norwegian

The supermarket industry is going through a socio-technical regime change just as potent as the one the automotive industry is going through as it transitions to the all-electric vehicles. The goal for both is the same: a significantly reduced CO2 footprint. The radical innovation for the supermarket industry is the use of CO2 as refrigerant in heat pumps. The change itself is demanded by the fact that classical refrigerants are extremely damaging to the ozone layer. However, using CO2 as a refrigerant requires a much higher energy expenditure and making up for it involves a complete restructuring of the supermarket and of its surrounding environment, including nearby buildings. In the case of the most radical innovation strategy implementation the supermarket needs to be designed and created from the ground up with the single intent of offsetting the use of a CO2 powered heat pump and of using the resulting heat output. The current master thesis follows the process of upgrading to the new technologies from the perspective of several supermarket chains in Norway, REMA 1000, KIWI, Meny, Asko, Coop. The first 2 pursue a radical approach to innovation while the latter 3 follow a more measured, incremental approach. However, together they create an ideal niche in which the new innovations have a chance to develop. The process is still in its infancy which means there are both drivers and barriers to innovation that need to be identified. There are landscape factors that encourage the attitudes of both supermarket chains, and the way they shape their response will undoubtedly determine both if and how fast the new innovations take root and are established as the new socio-technical regimes.