Rockwell launches Chillermill, World's first hybrid energy based freezer which can store COVID Vaccines at minus 40 degrees

Punjagutta: Rockwell Industries, a pioneering commercial cold chain appliances manufacturer, on Thursday launched Chillermill, the world's first chiller/freezer powered by hybrid (solar and wind) renewable energy, that would be ideal for storing vaccines including Covid-19 vaccines at the desired temperature. The company also rolled out their new Covid-19 vaccine freezer series.

World Health Organization PQS certified freezer series will be manufactured at Rockwell's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Medchal, Hyderabad. The entire system is certified by the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER) Hyderabad.

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce (I&C) and IT, formally launched the new range of Covid-19 vaccines chillers, a simple plug and play standalone unit, powered by SolarMill, a hybrid (wind & solar) energy solution, manufactured by WindStream Energy Technologies ideal for remote areas where availability of electricity is not stable.

The Hybrid Renewable System comprising Savonius vertical axis wind turbines, along with a solar module enables the refrigerator to run 24/7 on power stored in batteries. SolarMills are also being used in powering critical applications of defence forces, railways and telecom domains.

Commending Rockwell for its need of the hour technological innovation, and its new Covid-19 vaccine focussed hybrid renewable energy driven Chillermill and the WHO certified new Covid-19 Freezer series, Jayesh Ranjan said government's immunisation programmes rely on a complicated cold chain of freezers and temperature-controlled conditions and Rockwell has developed the much-needed refrigeration technology to address these challenges to preserve vaccine, healthcare products, and other deep-freezing applications.

"There are places especially, many rural hospitals and immunization sites that can't depend on the unreliable power supply. With our new renewable energy-supported freezers/chillers, we are in a position to help the health sector overcome these challenges. Technologically they meet the strictest biosafety, biomedical needs and solve the pain points in the cold chain," said Ashok Gupta, MD, Rockwell Industries.

The company is in active discussion with leading vaccine players nationally and internationally to supply Chillermill. "We expect to close in orders worth Rs 25 crore this year and hope to achieve Rs 50 crore by the end of 2022," Ashok added. Rockwell, which has a size of over Rs 125 crore in the segment, may touch Rs 350 crore in the next few years, Ashok Gupta, revealed.

Rockwell's fully operational plants in Medchal, Hyderabad, can produce over 400,000 units per annum. Further, the company has earmarked an investment of Rs 50 crore towards R&D, new capacities and adding a new marketing network to its existing network of over 500 outlets.

In an initiative to increase their green footprint, Rockwell has partnered with WindStream Energy Technologies for providing unique hybrid (solar wind) Renewable energy solutions for the power needs of refrigerators and chillers/freezers.

Rockwell's Chillermill and the new Covid-19 vaccine freezer series meet the temperature protocols of currently available vaccines for Covid-19 including India's Covaxin, AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, Moderna, and the Sputnik Vaccine temperature requirement of storage temperature between 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. The new Chillermill can also meet the minus 40 degrees Celsius requirement.

According to the data from the WHO, due to the lack of temperature control or continuous cold chain during vaccine transportation, 5-20 per cent of vaccine loses its potency. A recent market research report published early this year by Meticulous Research mentioned the vaccine storage equipment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.6 per cent from 2020 to reach $1.83 billion by 2027.