The Clean Cooling Network (CCN – led by University of Birmingham, Centre for Sustainable Cooling) is a UNEP and Defra backed multi-million dollar initiative that aims to bring clean cold chains to all. Their work focuses primarily in sub-Saharan Africa with initial operations being developed in Rwanda and Kenya.

The programme is unique in that it combines significant scale technology research and demonstration, training and knowledge transfer activities delivered in partnership with in-country institutions with a multi-disciplinary programme of work delivered by some of the UK’s leading academic institutions and technology businesses.

The multi-disciplinary programme is holistic involving simulation and network planning tools development, knowledge transfer resources, GESI advancement research, climate risk analysis, sustainable energy and transport, supply chain management software and advancements to refrigeration technology.

FPS is leading work streams on sustainable transport and digital platforms. The programmes are intentionally collaborative and designed to engage both EU-UK and in-market stakeholders.

FPS Work on Sustainable Transport

Whilst many may think EV deployment in countries like Rwanda is too far off to think about the reality is somewhat different. 

Already the country is deploying significant numbers of EVs in the 2-wheeler, bus and private car segment and the beginnings of a public charging network has started to emerge built by companies like Kabisa. 

2-wheeler growth has been most dramatic about 5k bikes out of the 100k fleet are electric already. This has been driven by government incentives, funding platforms and moves by Moto companies like Ampersand and Spiro to establish networks of battery swap stations. All of this contributes to a positive business case for adoption that allows riders to spend money saved on fuel on investments like education and side businesses.

Logistics electrification is coming as well. European and East Asian commitments to increase EV adoption in van and truck segments will have a knock-on effect of limiting second life diesel vehicle supply to markets like Rwanda in coming years and replacing it with a supply of electric product.

Now whilst a vehicle supply is likely to emerge in this segment, some very substantial problems remain:

1. Charging Infrastructure – every company adopting EVs at scale is having to invest in charging infrastructure and grid re-enforcement. Rwanda is no different and in fact has substantial challenges with electricity coverage and network stability that will need to be addressed as part of any business plan. Problems are particularly acute in the cold chain where on site equipment competes for power supply and transport refrigeration impacts range. This means there is a requirement for fleets and regional policy makers to start defining power system impacts.
2. Maintenance Skills – programmes to address the skills gap in garage and workshop environments are essential. Already there is substantial anecdotal evidence of plug-in hybrids having their batteries disconnected because of a lack of knowledge of how to maintain and repair battery packs. It will therefore be necessary to develop plans to bridge the skills gap that exists in relation to maintenance of EVs and their chargers.
3. Integration of EVs into Operations – EVs constraints around payload and range can cause inefficiencies in logistics operations if not properly managed. Management approaches are non-trivial often requiring active management to maximise EV utilisation (and achieve the best business cases). How these solutions can integrate with logistics software that is only applied to a part of the cold chain will only add to the challenge.

Many UK fleets and EV fleet ecosystem providers will recognise these challenges as we are dealing with them today in our roll outs. 

The EV transition will not be immediate in Rwanda and we already know that market conditions and the specifics of solutions may vary. However, at FPS we believe that we have a duty to share learning, approaches and expertise with our Rwandan counterparts now because the transition is inevitable. 

Co-development of market appropriate solutions and their implementation can take many years, so the time to make a start is now.

To this end FPS is working with CCN and ACES colleagues on a programme of knowledge transfer and dialogue over the next 12 months in this area with the goal of helping fleets and policy makers better develop plans for the EV transition in the cold chain sector.

FPS Work on Digital Platforms

Integrated digital platforms for supply chain management are critical to the functioning of mature supply chains for both ambient and temperature-controlled goods. Whilst elements of the export supply chain are digitised in countries like Rwanda, coverage is by no means complete and many smaller players cannot access systems that are appropriate to their scale.

This gives rise to several problems that act as a drag on economic growth and development, specifically:

• Market Failures – there is often imperfect knowledge of available products and market demand. As a result, produce is not always sold at the best price or to the party who could extract most value from it.
• Lack of supply chain visibility – cold chain integrity and food provenance can be difficult to accurately track in supply chains without digital systems.
• Co-operation opportunities – because of a lack of transparency about what is going where, many co-operation opportunities (e.g. for co-funding assets or aggregating loads) are lost. This leads to inefficient provision and inflated supply chain costs that can make Rwandan produce uncompetitive in international markets. 

To address these challenges, FPS is working with CCN and local practitioners in Rwanda and Kenya on a programme aimed at understanding existing supply chain software solutions, gaps in provision, opportunities for new connections and services that can be unlocked.

The goal of this activity is to develop a design for an integrated supply chain management system to be tested in country in operational environments next year.

We will report more on these projects as they progress over the coming months. In the meantime, if you are interested in participating in any of these programmes as either a solution provider or end user, contact FPS on 01342 360 240 or info@flexpowerltd.com.