With the cold chain industry rising each year. According to JLL, the cold chain sector is expected to grow at 20% CAGR by 2025 due to its transformation from conventional cold storage to modern storage space.
While this is exciting news, we also need to take into consideration that the cold chain industry is one of the accomplices in the emission of GHGs by 3 to 3.5%. How? Let’s give you an in-depth look into this.
Be it food, or pharmaceutical items such as vaccines and biologics, the first issue to look into is the direct leaking from the refrigerators. According to estimates, up to 30% of the gas and fuel used to maintain cold temperatures leaks into the atmosphere causing major damage. Another factor to look into is the number of energy sources, such as fuel, required to run the cold chain industry. With shipments of long-distance, tons and tons of fuel get used up and emitted into the atmosphere daily.
With the vaccines being of most importance to every cold chain, it is crucial to introduce substantial practices. This is because the vaccine distribution will double the workload of the industry, as the demand for distribution increases. With the vaccines being HIGHLY temperature-sensitive, and high pressure on them being delivered safely, every precaution needs to be taken. This would mean freezing the trucks and refrigerators at temperatures below -60 C. This would mean large amounts of energy, to bring down the temperature. While dry ice is an environmentally friendly alternative, it has its downsides and can harm humans.
While this is the case for pharmaceuticals, did you know that food waste for cold chains is the largest cause of the emission of GHGs into the atmosphere? Each year, due to external reasons such as drops in temperature during delivery, Indian ambient temperatures, engine failure, food being temperature sensitive gets damaged easily. This means it has to be discarded. Once this happens, it releases large amounts of GHGs into the atmosphere and is not sustainable at all.
While we speak of the above, we also need to be more mindful and aware of the situation and look for doable solutions.
At Tessol, we understand the need for a sustainable cold chain industry. We, therefore, use phase change materials, which are completely engine and fuel-independent. This means that you will not need large amounts of energy sources to maintain the temperature of the products. Once the PCM is charged at our warehouse, it is then placed inside our solution-based vehicles, and maintains the temperature for up to 10-14 hours, with multiple drops! From tertiary to secondary to last-mile solutions, we cater to all areas of delivery.
Once the PCM is conditioned, it is either placed inside our boxes and bags or placed inside the compartments of our trucks, which are then charged electrically through a compressor. No matter what the external temperature is, or how many times the vehicle is stopped, our PCMs ensure safety, reliability, and most importantly, a green way to chill!
