Towards sustainability of road refrigerated transport in the food chain

The global road transport refrigeration fleet serving the food chain is estimated in 3.4 million vehicles; the sector is constantly growing and new habits, like online shopping and consequent short distance delivery, are spreading. The emissions of the sector were estimated in about 50 Mt CO2eq in 2021, being the largest part due to diesel motors. It is commonly agreed that around 20% of the vehicle emissions are to be ascribed to the refrigeration unit consumption. However, the entire traction sector is facing new challenges to meet environmental targets. At the same time, working fluids for vapour compression cycles are undergoing a tough revision process, which mainly targets GHG emissions reduction but at the same time concerns related to other environmental impacts on human health and ecosystems are gaining attention. In this paper, technological solutions to reduce the overall environmental impact of road refrigeration transport are considered and exemplified.