Phaesun GmbH – The world´s first “Low-Carbon Cold Room” (Kenya)
Who, What & Where
- DRE project developer: Phaesun GmbH, Solar Cooling Engineering GmbH, Efficiency for Access
- Funding partner: Siemens initiative Cents4Sense with support from the Siemens Stiftung and the Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund (EforA)
- Customer and cold room operator: WeHub Victoria Limited
- Beneficiaries: Market vendors at Homabay market place, Kenya
- Installation: April – September 2024
The Company
Phaesun has been specialising in the sale, service and installation of off-grid photovoltaic and wind power systems since the foundation in 2001. As one of the world’s leading system integrators of off-grid energy systems, Phaesun offers products of all reputable manufacturers of this trade. International project management, purposeful training courses for customers and technical support complete the range of services offered. The headquarters of Phaesun GmbH are based in Memmingen/Germany.
Phaesun has established the brand SelfChill for innovative and sustainable solar cooling solutions.
The Challenge
Southern Africa has the highest greenhouse gas emissions due to food loss in the world. Improving cold chain management could not only help to significantly reduce food loss but also cut the resulting emissions by two thirds. The pilot project serves as a blueprint for solar installers and developers to continue working on sustainable cooling solutions for agriculture in the tropics and subtropics.
Renewable Solution
The “Low-Carbon Cold Room” is an independent PV-powered system to chill up to 500kg of agricultural products daily to 10°C, even with ambient temperatures as high as 35°C. The system is based on the SelfChill concept, using thermal energy storage to cool the interior of the cold cell. Construction and insulation material is mainly wood and straw, to keep costs and CO2 footprint low.
- Cold room volume: 20 m³
- Ice storage 300 kg
- Power electrical (for 6 cooling units) 450 W
- Power electrical (pump + heat exchanger) 40 W
- Power thermal rated (@35 °C ambient temperature) 900
- Power thermal, max 3,4 kW
- PV capacity (for 6 cooling units) 2280 Wp
- PV capacity (for pump + heat exchanger) 760 Wp
- Battery capacity (for 6 cooling units) 525 Ah @24VDC
- Battery capacity (for pump + heat exchanger) 175 Ah @24VDC
Project Financing and Cost
The pilot project was funded by the Siemens initiative Cents4Sense with support from the Siemens Stiftung and the Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund (EforA). The goal to keep the overall cold room investment costs below 30.000 Euros was reached.
Project Outcome
In April 2025, the world’s most sustainable cold storage facility was officially inaugurated in Homabay, West Kenya, by Deputy Ambassador Alexander Fierley and the Homabay County Government. The “Low Carbon Cold Room” is based on SelfChill technology developed by Memmingen-based solar company Phaesun and was developed by an interdisciplinary research team working on the Efficiency for Access (EforA) initiative to reduce food waste in marketplaces.
The operation of the cold room is managed by WeHub Victoria Limited which offer refrigeration facilities for market traders. They can rent individual crates in the cold room and store their fruits and vegetables overnight or for several days.
EforA has now published the findings in the report “Designing for Sustainability: Blueprint for a Low-Carbon Cold Room“.