Reefer container fleet can reduce energy requirements up to 50 %

All over the world, hundreds of thousands of containers with cargo loads of bananas, grapes, apples and other fruits and vegetables are shipped every year. In cooperation with sea transporter Maersk Line and cooling equipment manufacturer Carrier, Wageningen Univerity and Research Centre developed the software ‘Quest’. Quest stands for ‘quality and energy efficiency in storage and transport of agro-materials’.

The Quest discovery comprises a revolutionary manner of refrigeration of perishable products during container transportation. Fruits and vegetables can now be transported over the oceans using only half of the energy consumption as before, while the product quality stays optimal. The principle of Quest is that the refrigerating system of the container works optimally based on the actual needs of the specific product. Quest only involves changes to the software of the cooling unit and is therefore easy to implement. Supported by years of research, experiments in the laboratory and on test journeys, much confidence in the method has been generated such that it has been implemented on a large scale. With its introduction and implementation, we can speak of a breakthrough or a system leap, since the method is different from the conventional chain agreements for cooling.

Currently, thousands of containers of Maersk Line cool their cargoes using this innovative technology. In 2008, this amount will grow to about 200,000 containers. It is estimated that with it, a reduction of 350,000 tons of CO2 emission will be achieved in 2008, leading to huge energy cost-savings. Quest is an example of (international) cooperation, out-of-the-box thinking, perseverance and entrepreneurship. Quest will change the container industry with added value for all chain parties and for the environment.