The Issues We Aim To Tackle with our Natural Refrigeration System
The Massive Gap in Cold Chain Infrastructure
Inadequate Infrastructure to Cool / Pre-cool Produce
The India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) 2019 highlights massive gaps in cold chain infrastructure.
Absence of Affordable & Reliable Cold Storage Infrastructure
There is a lack of proper integrated cold chain infrastructure, especially the absence of adequate cooling and refrigeration technologies and post-harvest infrastructure.
Here is what the farm to table value chain looks like, and the points at which there is inadequate infrastructure: (a) farm gate (point of harvest), (b) collection point (aggregation), (c) during transit, (d) at wholesale and distribution points, and, (e) retail.
All of these result in a significant post-harvest loss in India, which we will discuss in further detail below. These gaps in the cold chain present an opportunity to integrate climate-friendly, sustainable, and energy-efficient technologies in new and existing cold chain infrastructure.
An energy-efficient cold chain, as per ICAP 2019, has an energy-saving potential of around 30%, and would reduce the refrigerant demand by 11%. Suffice to say, energy efficiency is crucial for off-grid and weak-grid rural areas and will significantly contribute to mitigating climate change.
Higher Cooling Costs with Conventional Compressors
Modern technology is generally imported from the US or Europe to India and uses conventional refrigeration technology that consumes large amounts of grid power or diesel fuel, making units expensive to both buy and run. Their usage also emits greenhouse gas emissions, since the grid in India is 82% fossil fuel-powered.
It is imperative to note that in food production, energy efficiency is particularly important as commodity prices, including food, tend to be linked to global energy prices. As world energy prices fluctuate and show upward trends, so do food prices. This, in turn, leads to a sharp increase in food insecurity. While it is said that India has almost reached self-sufficiency in agricultural produce, it is still ranked 101 out of 116 countries in the 2021 Global Hunger Index, and 71 out of 113 countries in the Global Food Security (GFS) Index 2021.
This could be mitigated by using technology running on renewable energy, instead of fossil fuels, and would create a food sector that is less dependent on fossil fuels, the prices of which fluctuate the most.
Increasing Emissions from using Grid Power, Diesel Fuel, & Harmful Refrigerants
2014-2023 was the warmest decade on record, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO); unfortunately, this is not a new trend. No previous decade since 1850 has been hotter than any of the most recent four decades.
In 2023, The Global Cooling Pledge was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), bringing a much-needed focus on the climate impacts of the cooling sector. Action on sustainable cooling can avoid 78 billion tonnes CO2e by 2050, and the Global Climate Pledge commits to reduce cooling-related emissions by at least 68% from 2022 levels by 2050.
In 2021, India ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on phasing down climate-damaging refrigerant Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) through the adoption of low-global warming potential and energy-efficient technologies.
Post-harvest Losses & Resulting Food Spoilage
The post-harvesting losses in developing countries stand at an alarming range of 35% –45%, as compared to 5% in countries where cold chain infrastructure is well-established. At the farmer end, this leads to several challenges, such as high wastage, insecure payments, no forecast of demand available to farmers, and opaque price discovery.
This post-harvest loss adversely impacts the income of the agricultural workforce, constituting 54.6% of India's total workforce (Census 2011 data), and contributing around 17.8% of the country's Gross Value Added (GVA) for the year 2019-20 (at current prices).
Small and marginal land-holder farmers, constituting 86% of all farmers in India, own about half the arable land. They are the ones most affected by the lack of affordable post-harvest management facilities, which compels them to either sell their produce at a lower cost, or face spoilage and loss of produce.
Further, every wasted ton of fruit and vegetable decomposes into approximately 1.5 tons of greenhouse gases (GHG).
Utilising Industrial Waste for Cooling
Climate change has increased the need for resource recycling and a circular economy. What to do with fruit waste is a challenge that highlights why more environmentally-friendly alternatives are needed when it comes to producing energy from items that humans discard.
Fruit waste is one such environmental and economic problem in fruit processing. It consists of waste such as peel, skin, seeds, and stones as well as liquid waste such as juice and wash water. One use of this waste is as a renewable energy source for refrigeration.
GreenCHILL™ utilises fruit waste, along with other industrial waste, to power refrigeration units manufactured by New Leaf for cooling, without using grid power or diesel.
The successful development of reliable and affordable cold chain infrastructure that prioritises environmental protection while delivering economic value is of utmost importance.
For refrigeration equipment, we must focus on transitioning to clean energy sources and enhancing energy efficiency in both the energy input as well as the refrigerants used. Economic and environmental considerations must work together to drive social transformation, prevent food losses, generate livelihoods, enhance incomes and create wealth.
By using GreenCHILL™, we provide cooling solutions for 24/7 applications, save on electricity costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also adding value to waste from industries that are otherwise discarded or underutilised.