Member - PEPITEE SA

The project is marketed under the name "Ice is green®" The concept is based on a high performance insulated box and a passive refrigeration system using precooled eutectic cylinders loaded at the top of the container instead of using very polluting cold generators. The cold is spread from top to the floor by natural convection and no longer with pulsed air. For a target of 25°c temperature difference between inside and outside the container, the cold reserve lasts 23 days and can cover a wide range of transports routes. The inside temperature is reached by using the right adapted eutectic liquid put into the cylinders and that melts at the requested temperature, thus permanently maintaining the targeted temperature without any breakdown as long as the cold reserve is available. The “Zero Carbon Reefer” reduces by 80% energy consumption compared to a standard reefer and works with a daily carbon foot print of an electric car driving 40 km (for a TEU). As we plan to use renewable electricity to freeze the eutectic cylinders, carbon emission is down to zero. Economically, the use of this reefer divides by 2-3 freight cost as it is handled like a dry container and is fully multimodal without special equipment. The R&D development has reached TRL 8 on a scale of 9 (Technology Readiness Level), the concept/technology having been validated by IT simulation. To reach the final level, the innovation has to go through a test run in real situation to definitively validate the performance of the concept. Finance of the prototyping and testing is now requested. The Ice is green® reefer is fully multimodal (ship, train, truck, barge) and can transport all goods needing controlled temperature such as food, agri-products, flowers, dairy, meat, fish, wine & alcool as well as pharmaceutical, electronical or luxury products,.... The Ice is green® reefer can be used at farmgate and so facilitate a "field to fork" approach and offers a better tracability and control of the quality of the harvested goods along the logistic chain. It can also contribute reducing production losses by better availability of cold storage in remote areas in emerging countries, situation often questioned by FAO. In these countries cold logistic is a real issue once at a distance from the ports. Thanks to its autonomy of about 3 weeks, the Ice is green® reefer is well adapted to be used in natural disaster areas to address all kind of emergency situations. The technology can easily be adapted to refrigerated trucks and trailors as well as for electric delivery vehicules to improve their autonomy and reduce their noise pollution.