Field work: a solar-powered cold room in Cotonou to preserve pineapple !
From the first official presentations to its inauguration, relive day after day the construction of the FREECOLD 100 % solar-powered cold room in Cotonou (Benin).
This cold room can refrigerate daily up to 12 tons of freshly harvested pineapple before they are shipped to Europe. It fills the volume of 2 contiguous containers and is powered by a 40 kW solar power plant.
The solar-powered cold room designed and installed by FREECOLD was officially inaugurated on February 28, 2019. This equipment is part of the PINEX project, Pineapples for Export, driven by the American NGO Partners For Development. It was also funded by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop the pineapple industry in Benin.
EDIT: 4 months later (June 2019), the monitoring system of the cold room is finally operational! It confirms that the FREECOLD part of the system is working properly and perfectly complies with the initial requirements.
The inauguration
The official tribune with representatives of all the organizations involved in the project
After the visit of the FREECOLD solar-powered cold room
Cutting of the ribbon by Mr. Gaston Dossouhoui, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Benin, and Ms. Dale of Partners for Development USA
The cold room before its inauguration The first pallets of pineapple stored in the solar cold room
Wiring of the photovoltaic modules in the shelter Cold storage of 60 kWh by eutectic plates Storage of 2 x 60 kWh by OPzV batteries
Assembly work
Assembly of the cold room by the SINEB team
40 kWp solar power plant during assembly
Electricity converters in the shelter
Cutting and assembly of the containers -Pose of the energy shelter
Assembly of the ballast blocks of the solar power plant
Unloading of the 2 containers and storage of the goods on January 18th by the SINEB team
Hoisting and laying of the 2 containers on the stringers, on January 16th, under the supervision of CAB industry
Hoisting of the containers on site in Cotonou
Finishing of the stringers before antirust painting
Level monitoring by the topographer
Preparation of the UPN–80 stringers
Preparation of the site by the Beninese company CAB INDUSTRIEDeparture for Cotonou via Marseille (October 2018)
Loading of the container n°1 on Freecold site (October 2018)
Loading of container n°2
Beginning of the project
Presentation of the project to Mr. Gaston Dossouhoui, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Benin (March 2018)
Presentation of the solar cold room’s technical design to officials from the ANAC(National Agency of Civil Aviation of Benin) and the UGAB, manager of Benin airports (March 2018)
