Rolls-Royce & ChefsFridge develop cold pods for Covid vaccine transport

Rolls-Royce and ChefsFridge have partnered up to develop an ultra-low temperature pod for the transportation and storage of Covid-19 vaccines globally, in a push to meet the challenge of vaccinating patients around the world in vastly different environments.

The two companies claim the new ArcticRx system will help bridge the gap in the cold chain currently challenging the global vaccination effort.

ArcticRx is a passive, stable, long-term ultra-low temperature (ULT) pod, and the first of its kind to support a two-dose vaccine delivery regiment, targeted specifically at rural, remote and international areas. The idea is intended to provide support to attaining global equitable access and to help share doses as rapidly and quickly as possible.

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Allen Barta, Rolls-Royce, Emerging Technologies and Innovation Lead, said: "This new vaccine delivery system developed jointly by Rolls-Royce and ChefsFridge will solve the significant technological challenge of maintaining extremely low vaccine temperatures. Vaccines need to be kept ultra cold and for long enough to transport them worldwide – and not just one, but two doses of vaccines."

ArcticRx was designed by Rolls-Royce at its facility in Indianapolis and developed together with ChefsFridge, also based in the area.

The partnership has now led to a final design, with three models manufactured and tested. ChefsFridge is currently seeking investment and manufacturing partners as the team looks to scale up and push forward to market. 

As the Covid-19 vaccine rollout began, gaps in the system for storage and transportation became exposed. Many solutions were expensive, difficult to implement and inaccessible to many regions without resources such as electricity and ultra-low temperature storage at vaccination sites.

The companies say that ArcticRx can meet these challenges due to being reusable, lightweight and not requiring electricity to stably maintain the ultra-low temperatures required for mRNA vaccines. 

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Rolls-Royce engineers in the company’s LibertyWorks advanced technology unit in Indianapolis designed the system to solve the challenge. The company then connected with ChefsFridge, a company creating an asynchronous meal-sharing platform along with exact temperature-controlled kiosks to provide a 365/24/7 neighbourhood focused food sharing.

M. Shane Bivens, ChefsFridge co-founder, said: "People think the problem is over, but we’re not even close. Initially, we’re looking at immediate global challenges that need to be met. With the help we’re seeking from additional investors and manufacturing partners, the possibilities from this point are enormous for both solving this current pandemic, and shipping and storing other vital medical and non-medical supplies.

"There are so many life-improving medications pharma leaves on the shelf because stable cold chain transportation for extended time periods did not previously exist to move product around the globe," he added. 

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