CONTRIBUTORS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Why climate-saving investments
in cold chain technologies are hot
By Temple Fennell, co-founder and managing director, Clean Energy Ventures
As the global population increases and rapidly urbanises, the demand for vegetables, meat, seafood and
other perishable foods is exploding.
T
his demand can be met only by
freezing fresh food as close to the
source as possible, storing the
perishable food until it can be shipped
and delivering it safely to the consumer
in refrigerated transportation by what is
known as the cold chain. A second
major driver of demand for refrigeration
is the increased use of vaccines,
hormone treatments, complex proteins
and other heat-sensitive
biopharmaceutical products that are
growing at two times the growth of the
pharmaceutical industry.
For the cold chain to deliver these
products involves huge refrigerated
warehouses, massive numbers of cold
containers for transport by sea or
According to global market research
company, Stratistics MRC, the global
cold chain market is projected to grow
400 percent from USD152.7-billion in 2018
air, and fleets of refrigerated trucks.
To deliver perishable products and more in the cold chain involves huge refrigerated warehouses, massive numbers of cold
containers for transport by sea or air, and fleets of refrigerated trucks.
to USD608.4-billion in 2027.
invest in innovative technologies and invest in breakthrough technologies to hydrofluorocarbons. Other companies
to maintain these cold and cool logistics to mitigate massive food loss, freeze and transport foods. have developed disruptive technologies
environments and the negative impact widespread hunger and the negative on the climate is stunning. The refrigerants impact on the climate.
Unfortunately, the energy required
used to freeze food, hydrofluorocarbons
The combined negative GHG
VAPOUR COMPRESSION
to transport food, including Dearman
Technologies, which replaces a truck’s
The dominant technology for freezing vapor compression system with liquid
(HFCs), have a negative impact on contribution of refrigerant chemicals and food, known as vapour compression, nitrogen system below minus-320
climate that is thousands of times greater food waste is more than three times that was invented more than 150 years degrees F (-196°C) to maintain cool
than carbon dioxide. of global carbon dioxide emissions. ago. Vapour compression is an energy- temperatures for long periods of
intensive technology that creates cold travel; and Carnot Refrigeration, which
a global research organisation that by less than 20 companies; fortunately, by compressing a refrigerant such as replaces refrigeration systems that use
identifies, reviews, and analyses the most they are investing heavily in finding and environmentally unfriendly chemicals
viable solutions to climate change, and integrating innovative solutions into their freon or CO 2 into a liquid phase and then expanding it into a gas phase in shares its findings with the world – the infrastructure. what is called a thermodynamic phase
According to Project Drawdown –
The global cold chain is dominated
Two companies in particular, Lineage
with CO 2 -based systems.
The negative impact of the cold
change cycle. When the liquid expands, chain has been grossly overlooked in
chemicals used for refrigeration will be Logistics and Americold Logistics, it becomes colder and that cold is discussions of how to mitigate climate
the number one cause of an increase in have become the global leaders of then blown into the refrigerator or air change. One cause of this disregard
greenhouse gas (GHG), with food waste cold storage in the last five years with conditioner. is a perceived lack of agency to do
as the third-largest contributor to GHG aggressive roll-up strategies. These major emissions, contributing 89.74 gigatons incumbents, as well as end-users such the energy inefficiency of vapour and 70.53 gigatons, respectively. The as Walmart, are actively engaging compression primarily because the combined negative GHG contribution with innovative technology companies technology can scale from refrigerated virtually no innovation in cold chain
of refrigerant chemicals and food seeking to optimise logistics. warehouses to trucks, and because technology, and a pall of complacency
developing more energy-efficient phase became embedded in the sector. As
change cycles is technically difficult. incomes rise and demand for protein
poor disposal and displacement of the
waste is more than three times the total
Walmart uses blockchain to track and
The cold chain industry has accepted
anything about the technologies in the
historical cold chain.
For the last 50 years, there has been
carbon dioxide emissions of 49.5 gigatons manage food recalls; airports and ports estimated by the Intergovernmental in the Middle East manage perishables Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). with robotics and sensors to move innovators such as Rebound for cold chain infrastructure is exploding,
perishable foods from ship-to-plane- Technologies, which has developed a with China and India experiencing 25%
occurs post-harvesting and processing to truck; supermarkets replace toxic new phase-change cycle that creates growth per year.
could increase the global food supply refrigerant chemicals for their in-store cold by chilling a slurry mix of water by 15%, according to the Food and coolers with organic solutions such as and salt that can be as cold as minus- better, faster and cheaper cold chain
Agriculture Organisation (FAO). With transcritical CO 2 . 40°F — that's 72 degrees colder than the solutions is dissipating the complacency,
freezing point of water. with new commitments to innovative
Reducing the 40% of food loss that
more than 800 million people going to
Improved logistics certainly can help
However, there are some incredible
The systems from Rebound
increases in emerging markets, demand
Fortunately, the urgent need for
solutions from industry as well as new
sleep at night hungry and as much as prevent food from rotting, but these 80% of the food produced in developing solutions cannot chill the food using less Technologies allow refrigerated mandates and subsidies by governments
countries rotting before it can reach energy or curb the negative impact of warehouses to freeze food faster at a in India and China to support the
the hungriest populations, we need to cold chain refrigerants. We also need to lower cost, without using any harmful innovators seeking solutions.
COLD LINK AFRICA •
March/April 2020
CLA
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
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