New energy meter to improve efficiency in Star Cool containers

Aiming to address energy consumption issues in transportation, Maersk Container Industry (MCI) is introducing an energy meter feature integrated into all new Star Cool™ refrigerated containers. Maersk Line became the first to take delivery of the new Star Cool reefers at the start of the year.

The development provides energy efficiency and enables Star Cool reefers to log energy consumption in real time. The data can be monitored either via a modem or manually, at any time during the voyage, from when the Star Cool reefer is first turned on until it reaches its final destination.

In the quest to provide further transparency in its cold chain operations, Maersk Line has been running Remote Container Management (RCM) for several years, a system that brings real-time transparency into the company’s cold chain operations. Gaining further visibility into energy use is expected to provide substantial value in the area of energy consumption, which accounts for considerable operational costs.

Catja Hjorth Rasmussen, Head of Equipment Excellence at Maersk Line, said that accurately tracking the energy consumption means that the company can monitor actual energy consumption from point-to-point for different commodities, which supports not only cost optimisation but also our sustainability goals.

With retailers and consumers increasingly focusing on the carbon footprint of the goods they buy, the energy measurement tool is expected to enable the shipping industry to provide documented evidence of CO2 emissions: not just for their vessels but right down to the individual reefer container.

According to the company, the new Star Cool energy meter is an industry first. Previously, operators needed to rely on third-party devices to capture energy data, which could only be read manually during the voyage. As it was not logged, the data could not be used for future comparisons. The Star Cool refrigeration unit logs all data in real time, which can then be used to support strategic cost- and fleet optimisation processes.