Across East Africa, the challenge of keeping perishable food items fresh in regions lacking reliable electricity grids is a persistent and pressing issue. Particularly in Uganda, small-scale fishers face significant hurdles in preserving the quality of their catch amid high ambient temperatures and prolonged transportation times. Recognizing this critical gap in the food supply chain, researchers at Aston University, in collaboration with the agricultural development firm RAD Global, have engineered an innovative cold storage solution poised to transform food preservation in off-grid communities. This breakthrough, named RADiCool, integrates cutting-edge phase change material technology with smart Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring, offering an affordable and scalable system tailored to the realities of resource-constrained rural vendors.
At the heart of RADiCool lies an ingeniously simple yet technologically sophisticated cold box designed to maintain refrigeration conditions without dependence on grid electricity. Traditional refrigeration systems require continuous power supply, which is often unavailable or prohibitively expensive in remote parts of Africa. RADiCool addresses this by utilizing advanced phase change materials (PCMs) that exploit the latent heat properties inherent in transitions between solid and liquid states. These materials absorb heat as they melt and release energy when they solidify, effectively stabilizing temperatures within the cold box over extended periods. This principle mirrors the familiar process of ice melting and refreezing but is optimized through proprietary PCM formulations that maintain consistent cooling near refrigeration temperatures.
The development of RADiCool was prompted by field observations in Uganda, where small-scale fishers—many of whom are women—travel long distances, often up to nine hours on motorcycle backroads, to bring their catch to market. Without proper cooling, nearly half of these traders experience spoilage, leading to significant financial losses and contributing to local food insecurity. The RADiCool system’s lightweight, insulated design fits seamlessly onto motorcycles, the prevalent mode of transport in rural areas, allowing fish to be kept fresh for up to 48 hours. This innovation effectively doubles the typical viable selling window for fresh fish, moving it from a mere 12 hours to potentially two days, greatly enhancing market flexibility and trader income stability.
RAD Global’s founder, Tim Messeder, envisioned this solution after witnessing firsthand the logistical challenges faced by Ugandan fish farmers. Partnering with Aston University allowed this vision to materialize into a functional prototype, supported in part by the Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund. The collaboration pooled expertise in agricultural engineering, IoT technology, and material science to create a product that bridges sophisticated science with practical usability. The integration of IoT sensors enables real-time tracking of internal temperature and GPS location, providing traders and supervisors with actionable data to ensure optimal cold chain management and reduce risks of spoilage.
A key technical advantage of the RADiCool system is its ability to rapidly reduce temperatures from ambient levels of roughly 25°C down to refrigeration temperatures (~4°C) within a span of just four hours. Achieving such efficient cooling without powered refrigeration units is made possible by pre-freezing specialized PCM panels in solar-powered hubs distributed regionally. These panels are then loaded into the cold boxes to maintain the required thermal envelope during transport. This approach aligns with principles of sustainable energy, utilizing renewable solar power to prepare cooling materials in advance and negating continuous electrical consumption during use.
Such environmentally conscious design not only accommodates the infrastructural constraints of rural African markets but also reduces carbon footprints linked with traditional cold storage methods. By eliminating the need for fuel-based generators or unreliable grid connections, the RADiCool initiative exemplifies how material innovation can support climate-resilient food systems. The phased deployment of solar-powered freezing hubs further ensures that communities can locally sustain the system, potentially enabling broader adoption beyond fish transport into other sectors like medicine preservation and perishable crop distribution.
From a socio-economic perspective, RADiCool is engineered to meet affordability thresholds critical for adoption by individuals operating on low incomes. Its pay-per-use business model, presently under development, aims to reduce upfront investment barriers, incentivizing widespread use while generating revenue streams for maintenance and scaling. This financial innovation is crucial for ensuring the system’s viability in informal food economies where capital flow is unpredictable and micro-enterprises dominate. Furthermore, ongoing collaborations with partners across the UK and Uganda—such as ThinkAqua, Therma-Inova, and Dulotrop—focus on staff training, impact evaluation, and iterative design improvements, promoting long-term sustainability and community ownership.
Technically speaking, the RADiCool cold box’s insulation employs advanced materials engineered to minimize thermal exchange with external environments, preserving the cooling effect conferred by the PCM panels. The choice and formulation of these PCMs are pivotal, as their melting point must closely align with target refrigeration temperatures to prevent thermal drift. Engineering challenges addressed include optimizing the material density, thermal conductivity, and encapsulation methods to ensure durability and repeat-use capability under field conditions. Moreover, the IoT system includes low-power sensors with long battery life, capable of withstanding the rough terrain and environmental exposures typical in rural Uganda.
Critically, RADiCool addresses what is known as the "cold chain gap"—the interruption of continuous refrigeration from production to consumption, which disproportionately affects informal markets in Africa. By innovating a system that functions effectively off-grid, the project enhances food security by reducing spoilage rates and unlocking additional income for vulnerable traders. This advancement directly supports climate adaptation measures, as unpredictable weather patterns and inconsistent infrastructure intensify risks in traditional cold storage systems. The interplay between material science, renewable energy utilization, and digital monitoring positions RADiCool as a landmark case study in cross-sector development innovation.
Looking ahead, the Aston University and RAD Global teams are focused on refining the cold box design, including the development of special PCM panels tailored for diverse climate contexts and transport modalities. Partnerships with manufacturers will enable scale-up production, while expanded field trials aim to rigorously validate performance across varying environmental and operational conditions. The envisaged pay-per-use model is expected to lower entry barriers further, enabling small entrepreneurs to access and benefit from the system without significant capital expenditure. Training programs and impact assessments conducted in collaboration with local organizations will ensure the system’s cultural and operational acceptability, reinforcing sustainable adoption beyond pilot phases.
The RADiCool initiative exemplifies how targeted scientific research can catalyze meaningful change in global development challenges. By melding engineering innovation with an acute awareness of socio-economic realities, it offers a scalable and replicable blueprint to de-risk temperature-sensitive supply chains in low-resource environments. As Dr. Ahmed Rezk, senior lecturer at Aston University, emphasizes, the project underscores the transformative potential of interdisciplinary cooperation bridging academia, industry, and community stakeholders. RADiCool’s success story not only promises improved livelihoods for East African fishers but also charts a pathway for similar interventions aimed at bridging critical infrastructure gaps in agriculture and healthcare systems globally.
Ultimately, RADiCool represents more than just a refrigeration box; it symbolizes a convergence of technology, sustainability, and empowerment. Its thoughtful design addresses the multi-dimensional challenges faced by small traders—from climate variability to financial constraints—by delivering a reliable, environmentally friendly, and digitally equipped solution. In an era where food security remains a paramount concern, such innovations offer hope and tangible impact, proving that science and engineering can drive equitable progress for the world’s most vulnerable populations.
Subject of Research: Cold storage technology using phase change materials and IoT for off-grid food preservation
Article Title: RADiCool: A Game-Changing Off-Grid Cooling Innovation Empowering East African Fishers
News Publication Date: (Not specified in source)
Web References:
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T91aikbci0
- Researcher: https://research.aston.ac.uk/en/persons/ahmed-rezk
Image Credits: RADiCool
Keywords: Agriculture, Farming, Engineering, Industrial engineering, Agricultural engineering, Electronics, Information technology, Information science, Technology
