Newton Fund (Invitation Only) - Dearman liquid air TRU systems for cold chain in India

The International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) estimates that 200m tonnes of perishable produce could be preserved if the
developing world had the same level of cold chain as the developed world, this accounts for up to 40% of crops harvested
in India. The lack of cold chain infrastructure in India, particularly the lack of transport refrigeration (TRUs) for the safe
transport of food must be addressed to reduce the losses. India's National Centre for Cold-chain Development has stated
that India requires a further 52,000 TRUs simply to catch up with current production, excluding any future growth. This
innovative industrial research project will optimise the proven zero-emission, affordable, novel Dearman transport
refrigeration system technology, focusing on the liquid nitrogen tank, for the Indian market. The project will be completed by
five core beneficiaries with the support of an advisory partner who will review project aims and achievements on a quarterly
basis.
The research into the LiN tank design will look at novel ways of dealing with the expected high levels of boil off if a standard
tank is used. Using the current configuration would lead to reduced operating times and increased fill frequencies - the new
design will look to minimise these issues and develop a new tank design to reduce the sloshing of liquid nitrogen using fluid
flow analysis and modelling and mechanical design optimisation. This will achieve a new product optimised for the Indian
market that could pave the way for a new commercial product and IP in the form of new patents.
The proposed project will be conducted in collaboration with our academic partner, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
(IITB), conducted in parallel to the other work packages lead by our Industrial partners Dearman, Artic Refrigeration,
Cartwright and ColdEX. UoB will lead the mechanical design and optimisation of the LiN tank as described in WP6 and will
contribute to the fluid flow analysis and modelling. The tank technologies developed at Birmingham will be supported by
state-of-the-art facilities housed within the EPSRC funded Birmingham Centre for Cryogenic Energy Storage including a
range of measurement and analytical facilities, UoB's BLUEBear high performance computing facilities and the Government/ INNOVATE UK funded Institute for Thermal Energy Manufacturing Accelerator (part of the Thermal-Energy
Research Accelerator, T-ERA).

Worldwide food production must be increased by 70% by 2050, and this is driven in part by many emerging economies,
such as India, increasing food production in order to meet changing consumer needs and a growing population. This
challenge cannot be met only by increasing yield but also by reducing post harvest food losses. This drives research into
the cold chain and the development of green technologies for food distribution. The proposed project addresses the urgent
need for green transport refrigeration technologies in India, by optimising the on-vehicle LiN tank for the Dearman clean,
cold and power system. The tank will be designed to deal with vastly differing ambient conditions and varying levels of road
quality likely to be found across India. Tank materials, structural design and fluid control methods will need to limit boil off,
leading to increased operating times and a decrease in refill frequency.
Key beneficiaries of this work will be industry, government agencies, academics and the general public. A comprehensive
programme of dissemination, through academic and trade journals, workshops, conferences and technology
demonstrations will ensure that the outcomes of this project are communicated effectively.
The main economic beneficiaries will be companies transporting refrigerated goods - a multi-billion dollar global industry
growing annually at 25% (GAGR) in India - as well as the industrial gases industry who will supply liquid nitrogen to those
companies and refrigerated equipment suppliers who will fit the newly developed transport refrigeration unit (TRU) on to
their fleet vehicles. Other economic beneficiaries will be those that benefit from an integrated 'cold-chain', such as
agricultural and supporting industries, food processors, exporters and retailers. Consumers will benefit from improved food
quality and reduced price volatility as a result of reduced post harvest food losses.
There will be Environmental benefits though the optimisation of clean, sustainable Dearman TRU systems in India.
Traditional diesel refrigeration systems emit up to six times the NOx and 29 times the particulate matter (PM) of a modern
diesel propulsion engine. The Dearman TRU has been shown to be cost effective with superior pull down times and zeroemissions
at point of use as well as lower CO2. It can also drive the ancillary loads i.e. fans and so is truly independent of
the primary diesel powertrain. A clean cold chain will lead to improved urban air quality and help achieve India's
greenhouse gas emissions targets through reduced CO2 emissions from TRUs.
The societal benefits will emanate from improved food quality and nutritional content, as well as improved local air quality
(which currently accounts for an c.600k Indian deaths p.a.). There will also be prosperity through job creation with
improved food transportation and local manufacturing and installation of the system. Furthermore contributions to and
influence over policy related to urban air quality, energy and the cold chain through involvement in scientific advisory
committees will be made.
Academic beneficiaries; A novel, fully optimised tank for the TRU system will lead to further penetration of the Dearman
Technology into transportation and other cold and power applications. Understanding the fundamental behaviour of the
stored cryogenic fluid and its interaction with the surrounding tank will help establish the limits of operation. Through
dissemination of the successes of this project to research communities and industry, the Dearman Technology will
contribute to the global strategy for sustainable energy production and utilisation. It will also produce a team of highly
skilled cold and power researchers and engineers as future industry leaders. Finally, the general public, though a
comprehensive dissemination plan, will be informed and aware of the issues, successes and knowledge generated from
this project.