9 opportunities for more sustainable storage

Where are the possibilities for making the storage of agricultural products more sustainable? ENGIE Refrigeration, specialist in refrigeration technology and partner of the Boerenbusiness Crop tour, sums up the opportunities.

Several developments require more sustainable production methods. European legislation, for example, states that the use of synthetic refrigerants in cooling installations must be reduced and, in the long term, even banned. The market and government are also making increasingly higher demands on more sustainable production processes. This means that sustainability is the rule rather than the exception. An overview of the opportunities.

1. Start with mechanical cooling
"ENGIE Refrigeration offers a new, more sustainable method for drying and storing potatoes, onions and other products: condensation drying. This allows growers to maintain the quality of their products, realize significantly lower energy costs and also take advantage of the opportunities for sustainability," says Gert Jan Knippenberg, the business development manager at ENGIE Refrigeration.

The cooling installation consists of a mechanical storage system and is used in an almost completely closed environment. So no outside air is involved, or only when the conditions are right. The different phases of the storage process are fully automated. The computer continuously measures the temperature and humidity in the shed. It also adjusts the cooling capacity and the storage program to the cooling demand.

2. Use natural refrigerants
About 3% of electricity consumption is used for cooling. The natural refrigerants (CO₂, ammonia and propane) help to reduce consumption and make companies more sustainable. They have a lower impact on the greenhouse effect (the GWP value) than synthetic refrigerants. Because ENGIE's sustainable storage system runs on natural refrigerants, this leads to a win-win situation for the grower and the environment.

"In practice, we see that the energy consumption of the installation is 20% to 40% lower than with an installation with a synthetic refrigerant. This reduces costs." Mechanical cooling (with natural refrigerants) fits into a sustainable production chain, something for which there is increasing demand. "Would you like to know more about the new regulations regarding the synthetic refrigerant in your installation? Then request the Z-Card 'F-Gas legislation – Cooling without heating'."

3. Stop Using Harmful Germ Inhibitors
From 1 January 2020, the use of the sprout inhibitor and the herbicide chlorpropham (chlorpropham) will be prohibited. An alternative to this is a biological sprout inhibitor, although it is quite a bit more expensive. A sustainable alternative is to opt for mechanical cooling. This form of cooling already largely inhibits nucleation. In addition, the biological coolant does not evaporate in the closed storage environment. With this closed storage environment from ENGIE you can therefore save up to €10.000 per year.

4. Provide more tradable products
Due to a gradual temperature drop during cooling, a stable temperature during storage and a constant humidity and CO₂content in the storage place, the quality is preserved. For potatoes, for example, this results in a drying rate of less than 3%. An infested potato in a conventional storage facility can rot and infect surrounding products.

ENGIE's storage system dries the potatoes and does not affect other products, which also reduces the chance of rot nests spreading. This prevents food waste and yields up to 30% more marketable product. "The potatoes can also be stored longer, because the quality is preserved. The potato growers can therefore respond better to price developments in the market," says Knippenberg.

5. Respond to Climate Change
"A drying and storage system that depends on outside air has little prospects for the future. This is because climate change increasingly leads to unpredictable weather conditions. Humidity and changes in temperature and CO₂ can affect products. In addition, the long periods with too warm outside air can make cooling impossible, which means that the chance of dehydration increases. With mechanical cooling, growers can eliminate the outside air and all associated risks."

6. Minimize gas and energy consumption
By excluding the outside air, the use of gas heaters is also a thing of the past. After all, extra heating due to air that is too humid is no longer necessary. That greatly minimizes costs. Residual heat from the installation can also be used for other applications. For example, a heat pump can make this residual heat suitable for heating spaces or cleaning water. This also reduces energy consumption, energy costs and CO₂emissions.

7. Install solar panels
With the installation of solar panels, growers can generate the energy required for mechanical cooling themselves. Knippenberg: "That makes storage even energy-neutral. From January 2024, all roofs in the Netherlands must also be asbestos-free. For entrepreneurs, removing and replacing asbestos is a significant (financial) challenge. ENGIE offers the opportunity to to realize sunroofs, for which the grower does not have to make an investment himself and with which he profits as much as possible from the rental income from his roof or land."

8. Take advantage of tax arrangements
There are interesting subsidies and attractive tax incentives for the application of sustainable technologies. The Energy Investment Allowance (EIA) in particular offers perspective. Growers can deduct 45% of the investment costs from their taxable profit, on top of the usual depreciation. The net benefit can therefore rise to more than 23%, depending on the legal form and the tax rate.

9. Take advantage of attractive financing options
"At ENGIE, we understand that banks are sometimes reluctant to finance sustainable solutions. That is why we lend a helping hand where necessary with financing issues and we offer attractive financing options, because we rely on the value our technology has for both the environment and the business operations of potato growers," says Knippenberg.

For more information on refrigeration.nl.