A new eco-friendly refrigeration solution developed by Palfridge (Matsapha / Swaziland; www.palfridge.com), a leading manufacturer of refrigerating appliances in southern Africa, is capable of keeping contents cool for up to five days without electricity, even with outside temperatures of more than 40 °C. The key is a 10 cm thick insulation layer made of rigid polyurethane foam that is based on raw materials supplied by Bayer MaterialScience (Leverkusen / Germany; www.bayerbms.com). Some of the Palfridge units are equipped with two 90 Watt solar modules, an eco-friendly alternative to power refrigeration in hot countries.

Palfridge was the first company in Africa to switch its entire production to the natural refrigerant hydrocarbon. "This enabled emissions of gases containing fluorine to be reduced by a total of 29,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. In addition to improving conditions for the people, these measures also make a small contribution to climate protection," said Palfridge technical director Roy Singh. The project was funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ; www.gtz.de)