IceBattery launched in Delhi, an Indo-Japan cold chain initiative

Strengthening Indo-Japan cooperation in sustainable logistics, Japan-based Innovation Thru Energy (ITE) and IceBattery India on Tuesday launched the 'IceBattery Rail and Land Cold Chain Technology' at Bharat Mandapam.

The event, which took place on the occasion of Japan Foundation Day, is a movement to transform India's cold chain infrastructure with energy, efficient and climate resilient solutions.

The technology makes it possible to keep a stable temperature for perishables in transit without having to depend on continuous power or diesel- based refrigeration. One of the significant features of the event was the signing of a MoU between ITE and Kalyani Cast Tech for 'Make in India' container manufacturing, which will help the growth of domestic production and localisation.

Addressing the gathering, Deepak Kalia, CEO of IceBattery India, and Tatsuo Hosoi, Director of ITE Japan, outlined a shared vision for advanced logistics. Pankaj Garg, Founder and CEO of ITE, and Senior Advisor Tadamasa Ishida stressed that it is crucial to have scalable, low, carbon solutions that are not only effective but also in line with India's sustainability goals.

Sanjay Swarup, a representative from CONCOR, said technology is a key factor not only in increasing the capacity of rail- based freight but also in significantly reducing the energy consumption.

Katsuhiko Murayama (Former Director, METI Japan), Takashi Suzuki (JETRO), Shailendra Singh (Former Director, Ministry of Railways), Dr Prabhat (Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture), and Sanjay Sharma (Director, SECI) were present at the event.

The programme started with Saraswati Vandana and Buddhist chanting and ended with a technology presentation and a ribbon cutting ceremony.

In his speech of thanks, Deepak Kalia pointed out that this project goes a long way in minimizing food loss after harvest and thus, is a major contribution towards food security.

The collaboration underlines the Indo- Japan pact to develop a modern and low emission supply chain for the plant- based and pharmaceutical sectors of the country.