AGRI-COOL: Advancing sustainable AGRIculture through off-grid energy and COOLing solutions in Africa
Call: HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-02
Large parts of sub-Saharan Africa have no or only limited access to the electricity grid. Therefore, many farmers cannot adequately cool their products. This results in an enormous loss and waste of food, which is responsible for more than 10% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Cooling the food by inefficiently using generators on fossil fuels – the most common alternative – is not climate-friendly either. AGRI-COOL will address both problems with a containerized solution in which food can be stored and cooled. It combines the use of photovoltaic technology, thermal energy storage by phase change materials, chillers, and smart control strategies to offer an affordable, scalable and climate-friendly solution.
This project was funded by the European’s Horizon research and innovation programme under grant agreement N°101147102 . Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.