On May 23rd, the first African test chamber for refrigerated vehicles was officially inaugurated in Pretoria. The test chamber enables manufacturers to test their cooling units and increase their efficiency, hereby mitigating the high levels of emissions from the transport refrigeration sector.
South Africa's economy depends largely on agriculture and trade, two sectors in which transport plays a vital role. The transport and distribution of perishable foods requires an efficient cooling system, which requires large amounts of fuel and hereby creates CO2 emissions. With approximately 14,000 trucks and trailers used in this sector in South Africa, a large mitigation potential exists. Manufacturers can test and improve their thermal efficiency in the test chamber; the expected accumulated emissions savings potential amounts to 2 million tons CO2-equivalent by 2030.
The test chamber was installed under the project "Emission mitigation in transport refrigeration sector through the introduction of innovative logistics and supply structures in South Africa", funded by the BMUB. The German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle produced a short video (abre en una nueva ventana) on the thermal test chamber.