The Global Partnership for Improving the Food Cold Chain in the Philippines (FCC) project – through its Cold Chain Innovation Hub (CCI-Hub) – is seeking proposals from the country’s refrigeration operators and end users to receive co-financing for demonstration projects that use low-carbon, natural refrigerant-based cold chain technologies, such as transcritical CO2 (R744) systems.
Projects based on Propane (R290) and ammonia/NH3 (R717) are also eligible for funding.
According to the CCI-Hub, selected projects will help to demonstrate how improved cold chains can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, operational costs and food loss in the Philippines.
Applicants could receive up to 80% of project costs through co-financing from the FCC project and CCI-Hub.
Projects will also follow the hub’s principles of efficiency, safety, replicability, impact and readiness, it added.
Proposals are due by January 23.
Installation by June 2023
Proposed projects can cover a range of aspects within the cold chain, including industrial refrigeration, commercial refrigeration, hospitality, refrigerated transport and agriculture.
Technologies, which must be installed by June 2023, can include transcritical CO2-systems or condensing units, R290 water loop refrigeration systems, R290 plug-in display cases, R290 cooling units for walk-in cold rooms and solar-powered chest freezers for off-grid applications.
The CCI-Hub is also interested in projects that include measures to improve the efficiency of ammonia-based refrigeration technologies and other elements of the cold chain.
To be eligible to receive funding, applicants must demonstrate the scalability of their proposed projects, as well as their commitment to adopting sustainable practices and technologies, said the CCI-Hub.
According to the CCI-Hub, the selection of demonstration projects and the amount granted to each project are subject to its evaluation criteria.
Industry Leaders’ Conference
More information on the co-financing opportunity and the featured technologies will be discussed at the CCI-Hub – The Future of the Industry Conference on January 24, 2023 at its facilities in Taguig City, the Philippines.
The one-day industry leaders’ conference will be hosted at the offices of the Philippine Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), which is the official host of the CCI-Hub at its regional training center in Manila.
In addition to discussions around needs of the local food cold chain, global trends, innovation and policy, there will be hands-on demonstrations of some of the Hub’s technology.
The conference will be followed by two days of technology training sessions for end users, engineers, technicians and other industry stakeholders.
CCI-Hub’s high-level technical sessions aim to provide stakeholders with knowledge on new and emerging cold chain solutions as part of the FCC project’s capacity-development initiatives.
The CCI-Hub will also be holding exclusive online training sessions on natural refrigerants on January 19, 2023, in partnership with Danish HVAC&R manufacture Danfoss.
Stakeholder collaboration
The FCC project’s goal to identify and encourage the development of low-carbon and energy-efficient refrigeration technologies and business practices throughout the Philippines’ food cold chain.
Through this work, it aims is to increase food safety and security across the country.
The CCI-Hub serves as the FCC project’s centralized platform for sharing technical resources, training and knowledge and facilitating stakeholder collaboration.
The FCC project is a collaboration between the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Global Environment Fund, TESDA and ATMOsphere (formerly shecco).
