In a move to tackle Nigeria’s huge post-harvest losses and help reduce farmers cost of production owing to the absence of adequate power to farming communities, Ecotutu, in collaboration with the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI) and Solar Cooling Engineering from Germany, has developed the SelfChill cooling solutions.
The experts who spoke at a recent event themed ‘Promoting Innovative Solar Cooling Technologies for Nigeria’ said the SelfChill cooling solutions provide affordable off-grid solutions to preserve perishable food products while retaining their quality.
They added that the technology has been adapted by NSPRI for the Nigerian context with research and developed locally using both local and imported components to make it affordable and accessible for the Nigerian market.
Michael Omodara of NSPRI said his organisation is glad to have partnered with Ecotutu and Solar Cooling Engineering from Germany on the technology to provide affordable solar solutions for the country’s cold chain.
“Our concern now is how to deploy the technology across the country. What we have done is to domesticate the technology and build capacity in the last three years,” he said.
“We recently completed a series of training programmes to equip 32 people with hands-on experience on the technology,” he said, calling on other private organisations to adopt and deploy it across the country.
Michael Akinsete, CMO at Ecotutu, said the start-up is a clean-tech firm on a mission to revolutionaise the country’s agricultural sector. “We aim to become a household name in the agricultural and pharmaceutical sectors.”
One of the ways to do this, he said Ecotutu is increasing the awareness of the technology and facilitating rapid adoption while selling the components.
He noted that collaborations with both local and foreign partners are the organisation’s key success, adding that it also engages in training and community engagement to ensure that Nigerians actually understand the need for cold chain.
Also speaking, Weert Borner, Consul General, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Lagos, said there is an urgent need for better cooling systems in Nigeria.
According to him, the German government is promoting solutions to drive productivity for two reasons – for food security and energy transition. “This is why we are supporting solar energy so much to get rid of fossil fuels and decarbonise by using solar efficiently.”
“It makes much more sense to have a decentralized energy system. Besides decentralisation, with renewables, we will provide more jobs. Nigeria-German cooperation to build this up,” he said.
Speaking on the technology, Victor Torres Toledo, founder and chief executive officer of Solar Cooling Engineering, during his presentation on SelfChill approach and applications, said SelfChill is an innovative concept for modular cooling solutions powered by solar.
“Cooling systems can be created in different sizes for different applications. The concept allows delivery in individual components and use of local materials, so that transport volume and costs are kept low and final assembly can be carried out on site.”
Speaking on how Ecotutu is driving adoption, Babajide, chief executive officer of Ecotutu said several small businesses know they need cooling to improve their sales but they still cannot afford it and that is the gap his organisation is bridging through its business model of providing low-cost solar cooling technology.
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