News / Orbcomm reefer tracker technology boosts ‘Move to -15°C’ campaign

Orbcomm's dry container monitoring solution

Orbcomm, a company which manufactures tracking devices for reefer containers, has joined with the ‘Move to -15°C’ campaign, hoping to raise global cold-chain temperatures.

The initiative plans to bring up the temperature of road- and sea-going reefer containers from a consensus of -18°C to that of -15°C, which Move to -15°C claims can cut CO₂ emissions by around 17.7m metric tonnnes, a saving comparable to emissions saved during one day of pandemic lockdowns.

Energy consumption in refrigerators and HVAC systems increases logarithmically, meaning that 2-3% more energy is needed to get down from -15 to-16°C than from -14 to -15°C.

Move to -15°C argues that the industry standard figure of -18°C has gone unchanged for a century, and that enough has been learned in the intervening time that -15°C can be regarded as a safe minimum.

Various parties are now on board with the Move to -15°C campaign including Maersk, DP World, Hapag-Lloyd, ONE, cold storage warehousing company Lineage and UK supermarket chain Morrison’s.

“Initial research by the Move to Minus 15 Coalition has shown that a standard set-point of -15°C could be more appropriate for certain food products without adding any significant negative impacts on food safety or quality,” explained Orbcomm SVP Christian Allred.

Explaining to The Loadstar where Orbcomm’s devices come in, Mr Allred said: “Orbcomm’s technology allows shippers and shipping lines to prescribe and set cargo profiles for different frozen commodity types to ensure critical parameters in the booking are being adhered to and agreed temperature levels are maintained.”

Orbcomm’s equipment sends alarms when the container is above the specified range, he explained. “Operators can detect anomalies earlier and react faster by sending remote commands to reset reefer units to initiate corrective action.”

As well as using a great deal of electricity, refrigeration and HVAC also emit refrigerants like hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) which have many times the global warming potential of carbon (1kg of R-410A, for example, has the same global warming effect as 2,088kg of CO₂).

In general, Orbcomm maintains “open IT standards,” Mr Allred told The Loadstar, ensuring that participants in the cold chain can properly communicate with one another, and ultimately keeping cargoes at the right temperature.

“Our… APIs to other systems and multi-user platform access… helps extend data access to every stakeholder in the supply chain,” he explained.

“By receiving more accurate ETAs, increasing the efficiency of on-shore crews and being able to deploy contingency plans when delays are expected – shippers, shipping lines and BCOs can improve operational efficiency, cut greenhouse gases and lower their supply chain costs.”