Coolpack: innovative and sustainable with Phase Change Material (PCM)
This article originally appeared in the Bunzl Netherlands Sustainability Report 2022.
Energy is costly, and we can see just how dependent we are on it with prices going through the roof. With cooling and temperature elements Coolpack for decades in securing a stable cold chain for its customers. The elements find valuable application not only in transport, but also in storage.
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The Coolpack team is increasingly working on storage and installation projects where the temperature elements provide reliable backup as well as sky-high energy savings. How exactly does that work? You can read about it on this page.
What is Phase Change Material?
Coolpack is the market leader in the Netherlands in gel packs and refrigerants for temperature-controlled transport. Refrigerants are filled with a refrigerated filling. This is always a form of Phase Change Material (PCM): material that can change phase. “Ice for every temperature, you could also call it: for water, the melting point is 0°C. Energy storage is highest at this melting point: the temperature remains stable at the melting point for the longest time, until the ice has melted completely. Ice is therefore an ideal refrigerant when you want to keep something at a temperature around 0°C for a longer period of time,” explains Arno Zomer, Commercial Manager at Coolpack.
“But, of course, there are products that need to be stored at temperatures below or just above freezing.
And this is where Phase Change Material comes in. By adjusting the recipe of the coolant, the melting/freezing point can be lowered or raised. And for that, you’ve come to the right place at Coolpack!”
Saving Energy with Phase Change Material
Coolpack is serving more and more customers with PCM solutions. Think of customers who need to store products below freezing or at ambient temperature. Salesman Bart Kroes is enthusiastic about the developments surrounding PCM. “The world of PCM is incredibly fun and still new to many people. I myself get energy from serving this whole new market and our customers help save money as well as energy,” Bart says excitedly.
How customers save energy by deploying PCM? “Our temperature elements and gel packs are temperature controlled in advance, usually on site at the customer’s premises. Then – depending on the insulation capacity of the pack or the environment – they maintain the desired temperature for up to several days. This allows you to guarantee your desired temperature independently during shipments, you have a reliable backup in your temperature-controlled room when the electricity is off, and a cooler doesn’t have to work as hard, thus saving energy.”
New research and testing with customers
As you can imagine, new PCM applications are constantly being researched, and so is Coolpack. “There are intensive trajectories where we conduct research with the customer to find a suitable PCM solution and its effect. The more specific the problem definition, the more research is required. In doing so, we first establish the objective: for example, does the customer want to retain energy during maintenance work, maintain a certain temperature for longer due to lack of electricity, or electricity-independent cooling for sustainability or cost reasons? The ideal temperature and critical temperatures are important here: above or below what temperature should the products really not go? For example, the ideal temperature for film rolls might be -45°C and the critical temperature where they really should not go above -30°C.” explains Bart.
“Then we look at the current resources available at the client. Consider insulation capacity, risks and operations. We also include factors that we look at when ordering regular refrigerants. Then we calculate how many pounds of PCM the customer needs for a good result.
“And the practical side: whether the customer himself has capacity to properly prepare the PCM temperature agents prior to application. Thus, together we realize nice savings and guarantee quality maintenance of products!”
Want to know more?
You can find everything about Phase Change Material in Healthcare, Food, Logistics, Organisms and Installation applications on Coolpack’s knowledge platform phasechangematerial.co.uk. Bart, Arno and the rest of the team are ready to answer all your questions! “
Sustainability Coolpack and CSR
At Coolpack, we are aware of our responsibility to contribute to society. Both in terms of sustainability and society as a social body.
We weigh the interests of the customer, the environment and society, as well as ourselves as an organization, in all business decisions. In this way, we achieve balanced business operations and together ensure an ever better world.
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- +31 (0)33 457 19 82
- info@coolpack.nl
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Industrieweg 11b
1566 JN Assendelft
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