A Victoria clean-tech company is hoping to play a key role in the food and pharmaceutical supply chain 鈥� including the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines 鈥� as it starts production next month of its temperature-controlled shipping units.
CryoLogistics Refrigeration Technology Ltd. uses liquid 颅car颅bon dioxide that鈥檚 pumped into insulated aluminum, vacuum-sealed containers to cool high-value and temperature-颅sensitive freight, such as seafood, produce and pharmaceuticals.
The company鈥檚 SnowSHIP containers allow for 鈥減inpoint鈥� temperature control throughout the supply chain and are considered more eco-friendly for shippers now relying on diesel fuel to power refrigeration trucks.
CryoLogistics CEO Peter Evans said the startup company has been running tests with several companies in Victoria and the Lower Mainland, collecting feedback to perfect its prototype units. It鈥檚 now ready to start production of 40 units at a Chilliwack manufacturing plant in October and November, with plans, guided by demand, to build about 20 units per month, said Evans.
Each unit sells for about $25,000. It鈥檚 a little larger than a household refrigerator, about four feet wide, five feet deep and seven feet high, and designed to align with standard pallet sizes and handling.
Evans predicts the CO2 technology will be a game-changer in the supply chain, allowing companies to cut emissions by running fewer 鈥渞eefer鈥� trucks or reducing the time they are in operation.
It鈥檚 also expected to reduce the massive amount of spoilage, said Evans, pointing to studies showing 30% of perishable food produced for human consumption spoils inside the supply chain and ends up in landfills, where it decomposes and generates significant greenhouse-gas emissions.
鈥淭he conventional diesel-powered transport refrigeration units now in use are fundamentally no different from those first introduced in the 1950s, each one generating up to three metric tonnes of emissions every year,鈥� said Evans.
Evans said avoiding waste or spoiled goods is especially important to shippers of high-value products.
He said reefer loads are often exposed to temperature changes as truckers load and reload and shuffle pallets during deliveries. 鈥淓xcessive movements exposes a product to temperature variations or contaminants. Confining a product in a secure system protects it.鈥�
Evans said the system becomes even more important for critical pharmaceutical products, such as vaccines in the fight against COVID-19. 鈥淧harmaceuticals have been part of our business case since Day 1 [in 2017],鈥� said Evans. 鈥淎nd now it鈥檚 more important than ever.
鈥淗ow does the world deliver billions of doses of vaccines?鈥�
鈥淢ixed loads鈥� on a single reefer truck present challenges for shippers, said Evans. Some loads are frozen, some are chilled. Some products require a specific temperature.
The CryoLogistics units are designed to stay within one degree of programmed temperature, and the unit can be monitored continuously from a dashboard on a customer鈥檚 computer or cellphone.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 uncommon in the industry,鈥� said Evans.
ColdStar Solutions Inc., one of the region鈥檚 largest food-delivery companies, has been involved in testing the SnowSHIP containers for two years. It has provided feedback for design changes and sees the technology as an important part of its green-tech initiatives, said Kelly Hawes, CEO and founder of ColdStar.
鈥淲e believe this will be a tool for ColdStar and the transportation industry that will enhance Food Safe distribution to all market places,鈥� he said.
CO2 is used in several industries, including food and beverage, manufacturing and the energy sector, for its natural refrigerant properties.
Evans said the idea to develop the CO2 technology in self-contained units came from his late father-in-law, Van Thomsen, a Canadian living in Seattle who was in the compressed-gas business.
鈥淗e gave this 20 years of his life. He was ahead of his time,鈥� said Evans, who keeps a picture of Thomsen over this desk.
Evans was a career RCMP officer, who, after retirement, went on to work in commercial aviation, telecommunications and critical infrastructure protection. He started CryoLogistics in 2013.
Over the past two years, the privately held company has grown to 15 staff and raised more than $7 million from private investors and government research and development programs.
CryoLogistics got a big leg up with the the Fast Pilot Program funded by Innovate sa国际传媒 and the National Research Council of sa国际传媒. The company received advisory services and research and development funding that enabled potential customers to trial the SnowSHIP technology in their everyday operations.
Evans said the company has also employed 15 co-op students from the University of Victoria and Camosun College over the past 30 months. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for us to create opportunities for students to apply their skills in the city where they are learning.鈥�
