ShareAGRI-COOL consortium meeting in Vicenza: First operational demonstrator commissioned
On 10–11 June 2025, the partners of the European AGRI-COOL project gathered in Vicenza, Italy, for the project’s annual consortium meeting, marking a key milestone: the commissioning of the very first fully operational AGRI-COOL demonstrator, hosted at Genius Watter’s facilities in Carmignano.
Organised one year after the project’s launch, the Month-12 meeting was co-hosted by the University of Padua (UNIPD) and Genius Watter. It included technical site visits and detailed presentations on the progress of each work package. On the first day, partners toured UNIPD’s research facilities focused on refrigerants, phase change materials (PCM), and nanofluids. The day concluded with a visit to the newly operational demonstrator – solar-powered and engineered for harsh outdoor conditions.
This innovative cold room is set to be deployed in Somalia on one of the project’s pilot sites. It includes key features such as temperature sensors, a human presence alert system, a PCM-based backup cooling system for night-time operation, reinforced insulation, and dust protection.
The second day was dedicated to updates from each partner on their respective work packages and coordination discussions for the next project phases.
AGRI-COOL, funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme, aims to deliver affordable and sustainable cold storage solutions for agricultural and rural communities in Africa
Read more on the AGRI-COOL website.