A trio of young engineers have potentially come up with the solution to India’s perennial cold storage problem: Vivek Pandey, Devendra Gupta and Prateek Singhal – who met as undergraduates at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur – have developed a portable solar-powered cold storage unit, suitable for use anywhere in India.
Ecofrost, launched in May 2014, could answer the prayers of millions of small-scale Indian farmers whose livelihoods depend on selling all their wares before the rot sets in.
India is the world’s second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, and yet 30-40 per cent of produce grown each year is wasted due farmers’ lack of cold storage facilities.
India needs an extra 10m tonnes of cold storage capacity to stop the rot, say the Ecofrost developers, who operate under the company name Ecozen Solutions. But, up to now, coldstore facilities have only ever been accessible to large-scale farmers or middlemen with access to electricity (according to 2012 World Bank statistics over 20 per cent of the Indian population isn’t hooked up to the grid).
Ecofrost by-passes the need for electricity, has battery back-up and is small enough (12ftx8ftx8ft with a 5t capacity) to be easily transported by small truck. Although more expensive than a conventional cold unit, Ecofrost requires no inputs so becomes cost neutral within two years and leads to a 40 per cent increase in profits, according to the inventors.
“Our cold chain innovation will empower Indian farmers and Indian’s fresh produce sector,” says Gupta, Ecozen co-founder and ceo. “Farmers can achieve the right value for their produce, and the whole chain can benefit from the value saved by the reduction in losses.”
