GREEN MATTERS
Valorem chooses Greenway Neo N for its Cryosolar self-contained solar cold store
Founded in 1994 in France by Jean-Yves Grandidier, Valorem started as a consultancy specialising in developing renewable energy power plant projects, mainly wind farms. Since 2006, the business has expanded and Valorem is now positioned as a producer of renewable energy – wind, solar photovoltaic and, more recently, hydroelectric.
The
refrigeration compressor runs on R-290 to produce cooling
traditionally during the day.
O
ver the years, Valorem has built up the skills and expertise by creating subsidiaries responsible for constructing and maintaining wind farms and
renewable energy production plants. The teams handle every project stage, from administrative approval to maintenance. The inspiration for Cryosolar was born out of a visit to Senegal by Jean-Yves Grandidier, Valorem’s chairman and founder, where he noticed a break in the cold chain leading to a lot of wasted food, particularly in the fi shing industry, where fi sh was stored on the wharves. His aim was to be able to provide cooling to isolated areas using a clean, environmentally friendly process, limiting the need for electrochemical batteries. In 2015, he launched a self-contained cold room project in collaboration with refrigeration specialists. The Cryosolar concept produces excess cold during the day, which is stored and returned to the
cold room at night, ensuring the cold chain remains unbroken, even when the sun is not shining. “After a number of prototypes, we came up with this containerised system, which uses photovoltaic energy generated during the day to produce cooling and keep a cold room at the right temperature,” explains Jean-Luc Albat, project engineer at Valorem.
Cryosolar is an autonomous solar-powered cold store. The principle is to produce electricity using photovoltaic solar panels and then operate it as a conventional refrigeration system during the day. A eutectic-based energy storage system is also integrated. At night, the electricity storage batteries charged during the day provide the energy needed to operate the coolant circulation pump (the chiller only operates during the day). When the coolant comes into contact with the eutectic storage, it feeds the heat exchanger to maintain the temperature of the cold room.
Eutectic storage (a phase-change fl uid) means the cold
room’s temperature can be kept constant 24 hours a day, and the size can be adapted to the foodstuff s being stored. For fi sh preservation, the temperature is maintained at +2°C. With this system, it is also possible to preserve frozen foodstuff s at -18°C. The refrigeration compressor runs on R-290 to produce cooling traditionally during the day. At night, the cold room runs on a bio-sourced heat transfer network, maintained at the desired temperature thanks to eutectics. As part of its commitment to CSR, Valorem opted for
Greenway Neo N heat transfer fl uid because of its technical characteristics and plant base (bio-sourced 1,3-propanediol). Greenway Neo N is NSF HT1 registered and is suited to food processing applications and operating conditions with eutectic storage. The volume of heat transfer fl uid depends on the size of the cold room. For example, a 35m3
container holds 1000
litres of Greenway Neo N. To date, Valorem has produced, fi nanced, and installed three containers for the storage of fi sh under ice: one in Guadeloupe and two in Senegal. Others are planned.
28 July 2025 •
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