The SolarChill project developed a versatile refrigeration technology
that operates on solar energy; uses environmentally safe refrigerants;
bypasses the use of lead batteries; and can also be plugged into the
electricity grid. Developed over the last six years, SolarChill has been field
tested in Senegal, Indonesia, and Cuba and once it receives World
Health Organisation (WHO) approval will be deployed across the world.
"The Solar Chill technology clearly demonstrates the huge, largely
untapped resource of clean, renewable solar power that's out there.
This innovation will improve the delivery of vaccine programmes in many
regions of the world and save countless lives," said Wolfgang Lohbeck
of Greenpeace Germany.
SolarChill could replace the 100,000 kerosene
refrigerators in use today around the world for cooling vaccines.
Kerosene refrigerators are often unreliable and produce approximately
between 73 and 91 million kilograms of CO2 each year.
Developed along with UNICEF, UNEP, World Health Organisation (WHO), GTZ
Proklima, Programmes for Appropriate Technologies in Health (PATH) and
the Danish Technological Institute, SolarChill will improve both human
health care and help fight global warming.
More about SolarChill
At the
same awards ceremony Coca-Cola also received an award for
equipping all World Cup stadiums in Germany with refrigeration
technology that doesn't use powerful global warming gases and it more
energy efficient. This is another positive result of our successful
campaign to make Coke switch to more environmentally friendly
refrigeration technology.
More about Coke's switch to climate friendly refrigeration.
All in all a nice night for us, but a even better night for recognising technology that is good for the planet.