The missing link of the food cold chain: Commercial Solar Direct Drive Coo-ling Appliances

In many regions of the world, the lack of cooling facilities for food conservation in commercial sectors like fishing, in agriculture, or in the food retail business leads to a huge food waste and it is a severe barrier for economic development. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has estimated that 8 % of the global CO2 emissions are related to food waste. The aim of the present project is to develop robust and versatile refrigerators and freezers for solar PV that are adapted to the off-grid market – i.e., markets with no power supply. Vestfrost Solutions is successfully producing small solar direct drive (SDD) cabinets for the medical sector. The use of SDD cabinets in the medical sector has created a demand for a system designed for the commercial sector – a desire that comes from various end consumers ranging from the small fisherman wanting to cool his/her fish or the small local grocery store that delivers products to families living in off-grid areas. The technology developed for the medical sector will in this project be up-scaled and adjusted to fulfil the different requirements in the commercial sector and open this attractive market.