Sainsbury’s has teamed up with Williams Advanced Engineering to give its store fridges a turbo boost.

The retailer’s fridge systems are being fitted with aerofoils - the same technology that helps to improve the performance of F1 cars on the road. These aerofoils have been designed and manufactured by Aerofoil Energy Ltd, and Williams’ Advanced Engineering has worked closely with them to use F1 aerodynamics technology to refine the design.

The technology works by streamlining the flow of air around an object. Cold air streams down from holes in the top of the fridge cabinet to keep products cold. In standard fridges some of the cold air is blown out of the front of the cabinet, into the store, instead of remaining inside, which wastes energy. The new aerofoils direct the cold air back into the fridge so less is wasted. At night, additional draw down-blinds are used on the fridges to keep cold air in

Sainsbury’s head of refrigeration John Skelton said: 'We’re proud to be giving our fridges a turbo boost with this fantastic aerodynamic technology. Aerofoils help the airflow around F1 cars and can improve their performance – and that’s exactly how they help the fridges in our stores, by keeping the cold air in. This F1-inspired innovation has already shown it can cut carbon produced by major refrigerators.'