What began as a desire for greater transparency quickly became the starting point for automated optimisation of key energy consumers at METRO LOGISTICS. Today, cooling systems at the first sites are intelligently controlled, PV self-consumption is increased and peak loads are reduced in a targeted manner.
Our customer
METRO LOGISTICS Germany GmbH is a leading contract logistics provider with a focus on retail and food logistics. The company operates energy-intensive logistics centres with a total warehouse space of over 400,000 square metres and numerous cooling systems. At its Marl site, it also sources PV electricity from the largest rooftop photovoltaic system in North Rhine-Westphalia, with a capacity of around 18 MWp.
Industry
Food logistics
Application areas
PV systems, cooling systems, metering technology, industrial trucks
The challenges
ISO 50001
As part of the mandatory ISO 50001 certification, the company was looking for a central solution to record consumption, generation and load profiles across multiple sites and to visualise them in a clear and comprehensible way.
High energy costs
The numerous cooling systems and peak loads led to high energy costs. At the same time, the PV electricity generated on site was not being used in a targeted manner.
Our solution for METRO LOGISTICS
Introduction of energy monitoring
At the outset, METRO LOGISTICS aimed to establish a central data foundation to ensure transparent visibility of energy consumption, load profiles and PV generation across multiple sites. The integration is being carried out step by step, enabling the intelligent energy management system flexOn to provide centralised visualisation of energy flows across several logistics centres. This forms the basis for ISO 50001 certification and further optimisation measures.
Optimisation of systems
Building on the monitoring phase, active optimisation and control represent the next step towards automated cost reduction. In food logistics, cooling systems and electric industrial trucks are key energy consumers and therefore critical levers for managing energy costs. flexOn intelligently controls these systems, increasing PV self-consumption, reducing peak loads during high-load periods and, in the future, aligning energy use with day-ahead price signals.
Why METRO LOGISTICS chose flexOn
“We chose encentive because we wanted not only to make energy visible, but to actively control it. With flexOn, we are creating a central data foundation across our sites and can specifically optimise energy-intensive systems such as our cooling installations. This helps us make better use of PV electricity, reduce peak loads and automate our energy management in the long term.”
Benefits at a glance
Transparent consumption
Centralised real-time visualisation of relevant consumption and generation data
Optimised PV self-consumption
Full utilisation of PV potential through automatic load shifting
Reduced energy costs
Full utilisation of PV potential through automatic load shifting
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