Merck Sigma-Aldrich Chilled Water System Upgrade

Merck Sigma Aldrich are a world leading supplier of products for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical research, development and production. Their Irvine site required an upgrade to its chilled water system to support its biopharmaceutical manufacturing operations. T-SQUARED was commissioned to design and oversee this critical project.

The project in Irvine was part of a larger operation to upgrade the facility. The existing chilled water system had undergone several adaptations since 2010, resulting in a complex layout with varying operational conditions that required navigating. Many of the original chillers were out of service already and temporary ones were in place so operations could continue. We also had to accurately determine peak simultaneous cooling loads, made challenging by the mix of process and HVAC demands.

Due to the important work that Merck Sigma-Aldrich carry out every day, we knew we had to plan around site operations so they could continue with minimal disruption. To achieve this, T-SQUARED implemented a carefully phase approach to minimise disruption. The site needed room to expand also, so this was factored into the design of the facility, with additional space for growth allowed and connections for additional chillers provided for when they are needed.

The result has been a completely transformed site in Irvine, with a much more reliable and capable chilled water system. The project took just over 6 months from start to finish and came in well within budget. Read also about our work with Merck to upgrade their heat pump and achieve their sustainability goals.