Tackling Food Loss Through Innovative Cooling Solutions
Zero to Cool emerged to tackle the cold crunch and significant food loss challenges due to the lack of a cold chain. Food loss is really a second-order effect of the lack of energy access or the affordability of energy. For instance, in Sub-Saharan Africa, it’s estimated that about 40% of food is lost before it even reaches the consumer, representing a $1 trillion annual impact. This issue is particularly pronounced against the backdrop of Africa's agricultural richness, with about 2 billion tons of annual production. However, over 600 million people in Africa lack access to basic power, and many more face unreliable power due to the grid's instability or nonexistence. These are the twin issues we’re addressing with our technology. The inception of Zero to Cool wasn’t a single moment but rather a process, heavily influenced by the International Finance Corporation’s Tech Emerge Sustainable Cooling program. This led to a commercial pilot facility in Nigeria, adapting our technology to the cold chain. Though it’s been a bumpy road, this journey has resulted in several significant technological improvements and adaptations. Our solution offers free cooling from waste, integrating renewable energy sources. The underlying technology isn’t new—Einstein even had a patent on absorption chilling—but we’ve added innovative aspects to our design, which are now patented. We capture waste heat to drive the refrigeration process, and we’re agnostic about the waste heat source as long as it’s a hot gas flow with sufficient energy. This could come from diesel generators, gas engines, microturbines, or pyrolysis furnaces. The waste heat passes through our thermal generator, acting as a thermal compressor instead of the traditional electrical compressor, producing a cold fluid. This fluid, usually water or a water-glycol mixture depending on the required temperature, circulates in a loop, absorbing heat from the space to be cooled. Each of our devices can typically refrigerate a space of 50 to 100 square meters, depending on various factors. This innovative approach not only tackles the food loss problem but also leverages waste energy, making it a sustainable and efficient solution for various environments.
In terms of sectors, our solution has the potential to make a significant impact across various industries. Specifically, purified biogas can be utilized to provide power in generators, with the resultant waste heat then used for free cooling. If power isn’t needed for a particular application, the gas can be directly used in our machines, with any excess bottled for other productive uses such as clean cooking or as transport fuel, including for trucks adapted to run on biogas. Potential customers span a wide range of small to medium-scale agribusinesses involved in agri-processing, packing, and storing, particularly where there's a need for cooling or refrigeration and a reliable stream of organic waste for biogas production. This means our technology can be integrated broadly across the agricultural supply chain.
Our solution not only tackles food loss but also significantly contributes to reducing carbon emissions. The integration of biogas is a prime example of circularity, where nothing goes to waste. On average, each of our units is estimated to prevent around 400 tons of food loss per year. This prevention translates to a reduction of 230 to 660 tons of CO2 equivalent in carbon emissions, depending on various factors. Furthermore, by utilizing waste heat instead of electricity for cooling, each unit replaces an electrical system that would typically consume about 50 megawatt hours of electricity per year. If this electricity were generated from diesel, the savings would equate to avoiding the consumption of about 15,000 liters of diesel annually.
When integrating biogas, processing 15 tonnes of organic waste per day, the carbon emissions avoidance can exceed 4,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year. This figure results from a combination of feedstock emissions avoidance and fuel switching. Thus, our solution not only enhances sustainability in food preservation but also offers substantial environmental benefits by reducing energy consumption and emissions on multiple fronts.
Case Study: Implementation and Impact
We're currently gathering data from our commercial pilot in Nigeria to confirm many of the energy savings, operational efficiency, and environmental benefit metrics I've mentioned. For our commercial pipeline projects, we typically start with an energy audit of the customer to design an optimal system tailored to their needs and current energy mix. We're optimistic that recent design tweaks and improvements will allow us to exceed previous performance benchmarks. The implementation of our technology benefits the entire supply chain, but the immediate advantages are seen by supply chain actors such as aggregators, merchants, and processors. These actors benefit from reduced waste and significantly lower energy bills. Ultimately, as the cold chain becomes more widespread and losses decrease, smallholder farmers will see an increase in ex-farm prices due to a more efficient supply chain. The feedback from early adopters and pilot projects has been overwhelmingly positive. Customers are enthusiastic about the prospect of reducing their energy costs, especially if they can utilize waste they are already producing, thereby incurring zero additional costs. However, the sales cycle is lengthy as we are introducing a new concept that requires customers to see the system in action. Many want to "kick the tires," so to speak, which is why we place significant importance on our commercial pilot project in Nigeria. We are also working on an explainer video to showcase the system in operation. Initially, we need to sell units to get the technology in the market and establish multiple commercial sites in different countries. Over time, our goal is to transition to offering energy and cooling as a service. This model reduces operational costs and eliminates the CapEx barrier to adoption. Although the technology inherently lowers operational costs, the upfront investment remains a challenge. By transitioning to a service model, we aim to make our technology more accessible, requiring proof of concept in the field to attract lenders and debt financiers to support this shift.
Overcoming Challenges in the Startup Journey
Well, there are many, as you can imagine. The startup journey is never smooth; it's a real rollercoaster. I think all of my fellow participants in your Forest Valley program sandbox can attest to this. Additionally, we were called upon by the IFC to execute our first project in Nigeria, which is not the easiest operating environment at the best of times, and particularly challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Implementing the project involved navigating various global energy sector challenges, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused a significant spike in energy prices. We also faced a change of government in Nigeria, leading to numerous policy changes, especially in the energy arena.
Beyond these specific challenges, we encountered the common problems faced by all startups. Financial resources are often stretched thin, requiring us to wear multiple hats, some of which are unfamiliar. We frequently find ourselves fighting fires, generating a lot of sweat equity. In such an environment, you really need to believe in the ultimate goal to keep pushing forward. Despite these hurdles, it has certainly been a valuable learning experience.
