Did you know that there is a 40% food loss in tropical countries? Impressive amounts of emissions, inefficiencies and lost economic opportunities. Our next finalist InspiraFarms started in the UK with a global mandate and business model: bringing world class cold chain and food processing solutions to off-grid locations, below bricks and mortar local price and with a range of renewable-based technologies making reliability and supply chain integration a mantra. If this wasn’t enough, to make it more viable for clients, InspiraFarms offers two years self-collateralized asset finance for its products. Upfront of InspiraFarms is currently expanding and looking for opportunity to widen its reach and impact. At the Award and Tech Festival InspiraFarms is looking for expanding and improving networks.
Describe your product and its history! What is your unique value proposition and your business model?
InspiraFarms supports the creation of Sustainable Competitive Agribusinesses, transforming the global food industry by enabling small and growing businesses to be competitive. Our turn-key technology enables reducing food losses by up to 50%, OPEX by up to 90%, and enabling value addition enhancing customer competitiveness, viability and long term sustainability. InspiraFarms is built around four key technologies: modular light industrial buildings, hybrid and off-grid systems, remote sensing, and thermal storage based refrigeration technology allowing full reliability in absence of any source of power for commercially relevant operations. Technical assistance and asset finance complete the offer to our clients in Africa and Latin America.
What is your vision in regards to the future of the energy economy? And how does your product contribute to this future?
A 100% renewable world will be powered by a mix of generating technologies and energy storage will buffer the variability of renewables. The system will be interconnected, enabling new market platforms and transparent management of investment. InspiraFarms contributes by bringing a fully integrated renewable powered industrial load in areas where previously availability was 100Wh/day per user. InspiraFarms uses renewable energy, thermal and LiFePO4 storage to reduce food losses and emissions, enable value addition and generate investment opportunities. InspiraFarms energy generation and storage are fully integrated and remotely monitored by a cutting-edge data logger, enabling the development of the most diverse business models.
What are, in your opinion, the key challenges of the energy transition in general, and what are they specifically for your startup?
So far not enough targeted policies and incentives have matched the decreasing cost of renewable technologies (and emerging new applications) to generate a new energy matrix, where more energy is produced in a decentralized manner, with smart metering systems will allow the generation of more dynamic and transparent market systems. An explicit and internalized cost of the Ton of CO2 emitted will drive radical changes bringing businesses to interact to find solutions. For our business the challenge has been trying to physically interact with weak and unstable grids in Africa and Latin America and their regulators, with the new hybrid system and two-years credit to customers we are moving in the right direction.
Where are you based, and who are the key innovation drivers in the energy ecosystem in your region?
InspiraFarms is all over the place! Headquarter is in Kent, just outside of London, manufacturing is in central Italy, commercial operations in East and Southern Africa, as well as Central America, corporate engagement division is New York. For us it is fundamental to engage diverse networks and working with companies, like Schneider Electric and R&D focused businesses such as our partner eGenera.
Which results for your startup do you expect from the Tech Festival by DENA in March 2017?
InspiraFarms expects to gain more traction and expanding our network by engaging with the highly interesting and diverse participants in the Tech Festival, as well as sharing the enthusiasm we feel in this very exciting moment of fast growth for the company.
InspiraFarms designs, manufactures and brings to the market turn-key, modular, off-grid, and hybrid cold chain solutions and processing plants. It is currently growing fast, moving from individual sales to engaging Governments and Companies to improve food supply chains at scale. InspiraFarms generates impact, food safety, reliability and loss avoidance building sustainable, competitive agribusinesses anywhere a truck can reach. For more check out our website and look for us on social networks.
