Hema Fresh Hangzhou 48,000m³ Cold Chain Logistics Park Project

Project Overview

Project Location: Yuhang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
Contract Date: September 2021
Construction Period: 90 days
Total Storage Volume: 48,000 cubic meters

This large-scale cold chain logistics center was built for Hema Fresh, a new retail brand under the Alibaba Group. The facility supports the company’s regional fresh food distribution in Hangzhou, integrating refrigeration, sorting, and short-term storage functions to ensure efficient and safe cold chain operations.

The cold storage includes three temperature zones:

Low-temperature operation area: 0~4°C
Refrigerated storage area: 0~10°C
Transition corridor: 8~12°C

All areas use eco-friendly Freon refrigerant and barrel-pumped liquid supply, combining energy efficiency with environmental protection.

Customer Background

Founded in 2016 by Alibaba Group, Hema Fresh is a pioneer of China’s “new retail” model that integrates online and offline shopping. Through its proprietary app, customers can order groceries and enjoy 30-minute delivery within a 3-kilometer radius.

By adopting direct sourcing and building its own cold chain network, Hema ensures high-quality and cost-effective products. As of 2025, Hema operates over 420 stores nationwide, becoming one of China’s most successful digital retail chains.

Technical Highlights

1. Cold Room Construction

Insulation panels: 100mm thick XPS panels, Class B1 fireproof, with a compressive strength of 350 KPa.
Vapor barrier: 0.3mm polypropylene breathable membrane + 0.3mm anti-condensation vapor film, enhancing insulation performance and preventing frost buildup.

2. Refrigeration System

3 parallel screw compressor units with PLC-controlled electrical panels.
3 auxiliary liquid receivers and 3 evaporative condensers for efficient cooling and redundancy.
28 ceiling-mounted air coolers (13 dual-flow + 15 single-flow) to ensure even air distribution.

Project Results

After completion, the cold chain park achieved the following results:

🕒 Construction Time: Completed in 90 days, including installation, commissioning, and testing.
⚡ Energy Efficiency: The new system reduced daily energy consumption by 18% compared to the previous generation design.
📦 Storage Capacity: The total usable storage space accommodates approximately 4,000 tons of fresh food (meat, seafood, vegetables, dairy).
🚚 Operational Impact: Enables 24-hour continuous distribution, supporting up to 1,500 delivery orders per hour, ensuring freshness and product traceability.

By upgrading its cold chain logistics with this project, Hema Fresh successfully enhanced its delivery efficiency, storage capacity, and energy management, significantly improving the supply chain reliability for its Hangzhou operations.

Customer Value

Before this project, Hema faced the challenge of limited low-temperature logistics capacity, which constrained its rapid delivery promise.
After construction: