Sustainable Cooling
Cooling is essential for economic development, productivity, human health, and food security, but it also has significant climate impacts. With cooling demand rising rapidly, TechEmerge connects innovators worldwide and leading companies in emerging markets to accelerate the adoption of affordable, energy-efficient solutions that provide cooling for all while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
Cooling initiatives
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TechEmerge Sustainable Cooling – India Cooling Innovation Lab
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TechEmerge Sustainable Cooling – Agri Value Chains Andean Countries
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TechEmerge Sustainable Cooling Temperature-Controlled Logistics Africa
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TechEmerge Sustainable Cooling Temperature-Controlled Logistics India
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TechEmerge Sustainable Cooling Retail Cold Chains South Asia
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TechEmerge Sustainable Cooling Hospitality India
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TechEmerge Sustainable Cooling Temperature-Controlled Logistics Nigeria
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TechEmerge Sustainable Cooling – Latin America
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TechEmerge Sustainable Cooling Harnessing Waste Cold
TechEmerge matches innovators across the world with leading commercial, manufacturing, and industrial companies in emerging markets to conduct pilot projects, build commercial relationships, and de-risk investment in cost-effective, climate-smart cooling technologies, services, and business models.
Strategic Focus
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Transport & Logistics.
Agricultural produce, food & beverages, pharmaceuticals such as vaccines and medicines, and other temperature-sensitive products require cooling innovations for long haul, short haul, and last-mile transport and storage. |
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Space Cooling.
Hotels, commercial and residential properties, shopping malls, public buildings, and other spaces need cooling for comfort and ventilation. |
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Industrial & Commercial.
Cooling innovations are needed for industrial facilities, equipment and processes, as well as the production, processing, and point-of-sale storage and display of foods, pharmaceuticals, and other perishable goods. |
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Cooling Ecosystem.
Disruptive technologies, services, and business models such as thermal batteries, IoT, Containers as a Service (CaaS), and more enable and improve cooling across multiple sectors. |
Opportunities
- Innovators across the world can apply to join the TechEmerge Cooling Innovation Program, and access the knowledge, networks, and resources to enter and grow their businesses in dynamic emerging markets.
- Local companies receive comprehensive support to identify, field test, adapt, and adopt the best sustainable cooling solutions from across the world that meet their unique needs.
Why Cooling?
Cooling is essential to deliver fresh produce to markets and to preserve life-saving vaccines. In fact, inadequate cooling contributes to the waste of one third of all food produced globally, costing farmers, businesses, and consumers $1.2 trillion annually.
Cooling is also vital to produce energy, steel, fertilizer, and other essential commodities. It protects children, the elderly, and the sick during heatwaves. Climate change, income growth, and urbanization are all increasing demand for cooling—especially in emerging markets which are home to the fastest growing and hottest cities on earth.
However, cooling produces seven percent of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. It also consumes 15 percent of global energy, and if business as usual continues that amount will triple by 2050. The good news is that cooling innovation offers one of the most cost-effective tools to tackle climate change.
Latin America
$5.7 tr
Latin America’s climate-smart investment potential by 2030
$135 bn
Global market value for the cooling sector
↑500%
Cooling demand in Mexico will rise five-fold by 2050
Currently, 13 innovators from eight countries are partnering with 18 leading companies to pilot sustainable cooling technologies, services, and business models on the ground in Mexico and Colombia. In total, 20 cutting-edge cooling solutions for retail, pharma, agriculture, manufacturing, construction, education, logistics, and cooling services are undergoing field-testing. TechEmerge provides a total pool of $1.5 million in grant funding for pilot implementation, as well expert support as to mitigate financial and operational risks for innovators, reduce adoption risks for local firms, and ease market-entry and tech transfer.
- Learn more about TechEmerge Sustainable Cooling – Latin American Cities
Nigeria
$432 bn in GDP
Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy
206 mn
Nigeria is among the world’s fastest growing countries
$10+ bn
Global market for perishable products
TechEmerge is on a mission to demonstrate that state-of-the-art technologies and new business models can make temperature-controlled logistics (TCL) efficient, affordable, and sustainable in Nigeria. In collaboration with Kobo360—an e-logistics platform operating across Africa that connects truckers to customers—TechEmerge has matched 11 innovators across the world with 16 leading companies in Nigeria to pilot climate-smart cooling solutions that reduce losses in supply chains, strengthen access to TCL-dependent products and markets, and build commercial partnerships.
South Asia
1.38 bn
India is the world’s second most populous country
↑800%
Cooling demand will grow eight-fold by 2038
↓25-40%
India’s goal to reduce cooling energy needs by 2038
India is South Asia’s largest economy and one of the world’s fastest growing cooling markets, with demand fueled by a rapidly expanding urban middle class. India is also among the first countries to develop a comprehensive Cooling Action Plan to meet the need for cooling while mitigating its climate impacts. TechEmerge has several programs underway in key sectors in India, as well as neighboring Bangladesh, which are conducted in collaboration with leading companies in hospitality, retail cold chains, and temperature-controlled logistics.
- Learn more about our South Asia initiatives in hospitality, retail cold-chains, and temperature-controlled logistics
Global
$50+ bn
Market opportunity
500 mn tonnes
Global LNG trade by 2025
168,000 GWh
Potential to generate zero-emission cooling by 2030
Each year millions of tons of waste cold from liquid natural gas (LNG) are dumped at sea—but innovative tech and new business models could transform this untapped resource into emission-free power and cooling on-demand, and provide electricity to the grid. TechEmerge has convened a group of renowned clean energy and sustainable cooling experts to explore the technical and commercial potential of LNG waste cold recovery, and how this could strengthen energy access for underserved communities while reducing the environmental impact of the LNG sector.
- Learn more about our Waste Cold initiative
Other focus sectors
