Inficold

India produces approximately 170 million tons of milk every year – milk that needs to be correctly stored and consistently cooled. At village-level, power cuts are common and diesel-powered coolers can be expensive to run. “This made us look at providing a backup system that could be used as an efficient alternative,” explained Nitin Goel, co-founder and COO of Inficold. ”Financing is critical to nurturing innovation, and we are happy to be working with PFAN to help us raise funding for our breakthrough cold chain technology powered by solar. In addition to helping us with our pitch deck and messaging, we are also grateful to PFAN for introducing us to other ecosystem partners.”

The company proposed to replace the widely used diesel generators with ice batteries, which can be charged when grid power is available and then provide cooling during power cuts, making farm level cooling systems efficient and inexpensive to own and operate. Today Inficold lays claim to being the “world’s first universal thermal energy storage enabling off-grid solar cold storage and milk cooler solutions for fruits, poultry, flowers and milk”, and while the market is not small, Inficold has tailored its offering and is positioned as the first retrofittable cold storage solution – an advantage in the 200,000 bulk milk cooler market. Added to the 30% saving on energy consumption, Inficold’s long-lasting and versatile offering has attracted a great deal of attention, winning customers and awards across India and beyond – including the Best Innovative Pitch award at PFAN’s 2nd Global Climate & Clean Energy Investment Forum.