IITians create solar-powered cold storage with no running cost

Young IIT engineers have come up with an affordable solution to the wastage of agricultural produce by developing a unique solar-powered cold storage system which works at almost zero running cost.

Developed at the Science and Technology entrepreneurship Park (STEP) of IIT-Kharagpur by mechanical engineering student Vivek Pandey and his team, the micro cold storage system has been successfully tested in a Karnataka farmland.

"It is a first of its kind product developed anywhere in the world as there are no running costs for the farmer and works on clean and sustainable technology for all 12 months.
We have even applied for four patents for technologies used in the product," Pandey told PTI.

Under the banner of Ecofrost Technologies, the young graduates are now ready to move out of the campus and start a manufacturing and assembly unit in Pune next month. Using a uniquely designed thermal storage methodology that controls compartment cooling in tandem with regular cooling, micro cold storage helps increase the shelf life of agricultural produce using solar panels of 2.5 KW - 3.5 KW.

"The power generated is sent directly on to the compressor which can run at various speeds to adjust itself to the cooling demand. Instead of batteries, the system has a thermal storage unit which can store power for more than 36 hours to provide power in case there is no sun during cloudy or rainy weather," the young innovator said.