Renergen Cryo-Vacc can transport vaccines that require -70°C for up to 30 days.
Renergen announced that it has developed a ground-breaking device, Renergen Cryo-Vacc, to simplify logistics of moving the Covid-19 vaccines at temperatures of between -70°C and -150°C for periods of up to 30 days.
The company said its design used helium and could be kept at those temperatures without the need for a power supply.
Renergen has filed for the patent rights to its design and is calling on collaborators to use the design in the large-scale manufacture of these devices, to assist in the deployment of ultra-low temperature vaccines, such as the recently announced Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
The Renergen Cryo-Vacc device will be constructed of aluminium, providing durability and a long lifespan for end users. The group said a reservoir had been built into the device, which was filled with liquid helium, the coldest liquid available globally. This is then boiled and released over a 30-day period to maintain the temperature at a constant level. Liquid helium is also 20 percent of the density of liquid nitrogen, making the device light enough to carry, with an overall weight of less than 20kg.
The group expected the operating cost of the device to be under $0.70 a dose a day for the smallest device, depending on where the helium was sourced.
Renergen said the device worked to transport vaccines with liquid nitrogen too, but the vaccines must reach their intended destination within four days, unless the user was willing to increase the weight by an additional 15kg, which could stretch the timeline to around 20 days, but at significantly higher air-freight costs.
