Project description
Off-grid food storage and cooling innovation for Africa
Large areas of sub-Saharan Africa have limited to no access to an electrical grid, posing a challenge for farmers who lack electricity to cool their products. This leads to massive food waste and significant greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, the EU-funded AGRI-COOL project will develop an innovative containerised solution for food cooling and storage. The project will use photovoltaic and thermal energy storage technologies, along with novel materials, innovations, and smart control strategies, to offer a sustainable, scalable, and cost-efficient solution. Finally, the solution will be demonstrated in rural communities in Cape Verde, Somalia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, followed by a life cycle assessment to showcase their achievements.
Objective
Large parts of sub-Saharan Africa have no or only limited access to the electricity grid. Therefore, many farmers cannot adequately cool their product. 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.
The AGRI-COOL system will be demonstrated in rural communities in South Africa, Cape Verde, Somalia, and Zimbabwe to showcase its adaptability to different climatic conditions. A life cycle assessment following the cradle-to-grave approach will be conducted to show the systems impact on environment and Paris targets compared with competing approaches. A comprehensive market and business strategy will be developed for adoption of the system after the project. Training programs for farmers, technicians, and engineers that are tailored to local conditions will ensure that the system can be installed, operated, and maintained locally. Lastly, an advanced course for third party engineers from various African countries will be organized on the design, customization, and broader economic and social aspects of the system.
AGRI-COOL is going to empower rural African communities and industries by enhancing food security, reducing waste and fostering economic growth while contributing to achieve the African countries targets of the Paris Agreement. A balanced consortium with about the same share of person months and budget for African and European partners ensures that African problems are tackled by solutions tailored to African conditions.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture sustainable agriculture
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering thermodynamic engineering heat engineering
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.5 - Climate, Energy and Mobility
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.2.5.2 - Energy Supply
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-02
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
7522 NB Enschede
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.