Maxwell and Spark is excited to announce the launch of PolarLi - the world’s first commercially available battery-electric truck refrigeration system. This world first will be officially unveiled on 18 September 2019 at the Futureroad/Automechanika expo in Johannesburg, South Africa, after which the system will be available for commercial sale.

Maxwell and Spark is a Durban based lithium-ion battery manufacturing businesses, who have partnered with SPAR Group and Scania to build and test various prototypes and demo systems. 

“We spent a year designing our first prototype which has now been running seamlessly at SPAR Group for over 18 months.” says Dr. Clinton Bemont, CEO of Maxwell and Spark. “The data from the prototyping has been invaluable in helping us refine and perfect the design and we’re now ready for commercial sale.”

The PolarLi electric truck fridge system will replace the standard diesel truck fridge. By replacing diesel, the system is both cost effective and environmentally friendly. “It costs about 20-30% more than a diesel fridge to buy, but your monthly running costs, which are mostly made up of fuel and servicing, will drop by 90%.” says Dr. Bemont. “Over an 8 to 10-year life span, you can expect to save R1.5m per fridge. You’ll also be putting an average of 75% less CO2 into the atmosphere, making it the greenest truck fridge in the world.”

Solly Engelbrecht, Group Logistics Executive of The SPAR Group South Africa is a backer of this innovative new product. “At SPAR we support local and innovative businesses. Maxwell and Spark’s electric truck fridge has given us a quiet and efficient cooling option for our trucks and we are in the process of rolling out more of the PolarLi systems.”

The PolarLi system by Maxwell and Spark recharges its batteries in an average of 30 minutes and is designed to run for up to 18 hours between charges. There is both a fresh (0-5 degrees Celsius) and frozen (-18 degrees Celsius) variant.

“Everyone that has tried it, loves it. It saves money and the environment, and that is the bottom line. This is definitely the future of sustainable mobile refrigeration,” says Mark Templeton, Manager of Sustainability for Scania South Africa.