NEW TECHNOLOGY COOLS DRINKS IN UNDER A MINUTE

A new refrigeration technique is revolutionising the way drinks are cooled, potentially saving millions of pounds through dramatically reduced energy consumption.

The new V-Tex technology was developed through the ‘Rapidcool’ project consortium, led by Enviro-cool and new product development contractor Pera Technology. The patented technology uses a unique spin cycle to achieve optimum cooling. As a result, it can cool a standard 350ml can of drink in just 45 seconds.

Steps have been taken to cool multiple cans simultaneously, so the cooling time is expected to plummet even further to around 10 seconds. The innovation will mean that rather than storing cans for extended periods in energy hungry refrigeration units, consumers will be able to cool drinks at the point of purchase.

Paul Tattersall, Project Manager at Pera Technology, said: “The energy consumed by commercial refrigerators and freezers is quite staggering. Across Europe an estimated 85TWh of electricity is used; comparable to around 25 million households.

“Although incremental advancements in typical refrigeration technology are being made, these are unable to offset increasing use and pose a significant risk to the EC’s overall commitment to reduce energy use by 20% to 2020.  This is not the case with our solution. We have successfully engaged with a global multi-billion dollar drinks producer; they take energy reduction extremely seriously and don’t just want to hit targets, but beat them. This type of innovation will help them do just that.

“We’re extremely excited that Enviro-Cool is now taking this technology forward, the product family is already growing. On top of the commercial unit a smaller compact unit is also in the pipeline which is ideal for domestic use.”