Latest News | 12 August 2021
Rolls-Royce helps develop technology to transport Covid vaccines
Rolls-Royce has helped develop an innovative ultra-low temperature pod to transport and store Covid-19 vaccines in every corner of the globe.
The engineering giant, which has its civil aerospace and defence divisions in Derby, teamed up with ChefsFridge Co to create the ArcticRx system, which will help meet the challenge of vaccinating patients around the world in nearly every environment.
The system can be used to transport vaccines to remote areas, solving the technological challenge of keeping the vaccines at extremely low temperatures.
Allen Barta, Rolls-Royce’s emerging technologies and innovation lead, said: “Vaccines need to be kept ultra-cold and for long enough to transport them worldwide – and not just one, but two doses of vaccines.
“Rolls-Royce is proud to bring our innovation to bear on this difficult and crucial challenge and join ChefsFridge in the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The ArcticRx pod was designed by Rolls-Royce and developed with ChefsFridge.
The collaboration has led to a final design, with three models manufactured and tested.
With the ability to scale quickly with funding, ChefsFridge Co is currently seeking investment and manufacturing partners as the team moves forward to market.
As Covid-19 vaccines began to roll out, gaps were found in the system for transporting and storing the doses of vaccines.
Current solutions are still expensive, bulky, and inaccessible to many regions without resources like electricity and ultra-low temperature storage at vaccination sites.
Most current shipping coolers are only able to carry one of two rounds of doses at a time, causing logistics and sustainability issues.
The ArcticRx is reusable, lightweight, and does not require electricity to maintain stable ultra-low temperatures required for vaccines.
Rolls-Royce engineers in the company’s LibertyWorks advanced technology unit in Indianapolis, in the US, designed the system to solve the challenge. The company then connected with ChefsFridge.
Stuart Lowry, ChefsFridge co-founder, said: “The passion from the team at Rolls-Royce melded seamlessly with our energy for creating a way to help with the pandemic, using the toolbox of cooling engineers, innovation, and the build-it-from-scratch approach.
“It was not only exciting, but possibly revolutionary, in terms of solving this vital cold chain issue.”
