The Rwandan government has formally launched the new African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain (ACES), hosted in-country by the University of Rwanda.
The university has designed part of the Rubirizi campus as the site for ACES, the layout of which is under development. It is situated in the capital of Kigali, with existing facilities and space for demonstration of new technologies and future expansion potential.
ACES will help get farmers’ produce to market quickly and efficiently – reducing food waste, boosting profits and creating jobs, while also seeking to improve cold-chains for vaccines and health, now recognised globally as a key challenge for the Covid-19 immunisation effort.
ACES also brings together multidisciplinary UK and in-country expertise, with commercial partners to develop and demonstrate ways of delivering affordable lowest carbon emissions cooling and cold-chain systems, while meeting Africa’s social and economic cooling needs.
Associated “Living Labs” will conduct state-of-the-art research and offer technical assistance, demonstrations and knowledge transfer. The first Living Lab is expected to be established in rural Rwanda, with others to follow in other countries in Africa.
Rwandan Environment Minister Dr Mujawamariya Jeanne d'Arc says the Rwanda Cooling Initiative has assisted in the development of a National Cooling Strategy in 2019, which provides the foundation for ACES.
ACES "will bring together talent from across Africa to develop and deploy world-class cooling solutions”.
Researchers from the University of Birmingham, Cranfield University, London South Bank University and Heriot Watt University are applying their expertise with rural cooling and cold chain, backed by funding from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The project’s first cooling needs and gap assessment report is nearing completion, after in-country interviews with representatives from agricultural cooperatives and communities across Rwanda, as well as key Ministries, private companies and nongovernmental organisations.
With an analysis of energy consumption and sources, food and value losses, facilities and equipment, refrigerants and cold chain demand, the report will help guide the design of ACES.
Project co-developer and technical lead Toby Peters, who is also a professor of Cold Economy at the University of Birmingham, says “farmers need robust means of getting perishable produce to urban markets and medical staff must move temperature-sensitive vaccines to rural communities, but cold chain logistics must be sustainable.
"The [ACES'] progress means we move closer to this goal in Rwanda and the wider continent without using fossil fuels − giving Africa the means to feed millions of citizens effectively and meet export targets to drive growth.”
The project supports the Rwandan National Agricultural Export Development Board’s five-year strategy to double agricultural exports by 2024/25 and significantly increase exports of aquaculture, beef and other temperature-sensitive products.
At the same time, the work will contribute to not only supporting the efficient and equitable delivery of Covid-19 vaccines but also design solutions that contribute to long-term cold-chain and energy resilience with a lasting legacy.