Freezers are some of the most energy hungry appliances in grocery stores, homes and science labs. They consist of a thermally insulated compartment and a pump that transfers heat into the external environment. The larger the freezer, the more heat needs to be removed, the more energy hungry the pump. In addition to sizing considerations, portability also becomes an important factor in some environments such as laboratories and research stations.
Ideally, labs would want to have several freezers in order to separate specimens and reduce cross contamination. Team or researcher level ownership also helps to reduce clutter and messes from forming in a common space. Right now a range of mid sized freezers do exist but they are all fairly expensive and lack the portability component. When doing work in the field researchers will often use dry ice to port specimens from point A to point B. Not only is dry ice messy and hard to work with, it is also extremely environmentally un-friendly and even dangerous.
A new device called the Cryoporter aims to solve these problems offering a $3,500 mini specimen freezer with interchangeable aluminum blocks, a cigarette lighter adapter, battery add-on and a plastic handle for portability. The Cryo Porter is a cool device for several reasons. First, it relies on a Stirling engine to power the heat pump which is one of the most efficient and quiet ways to go. By offering something small and cheap enough to put at every lab station it reduces clutter and helps prevent contamination. It also eliminates the need for dry ice and can be set at variable temperatures instead of just -109.3°F or -78.5°C as is the case with dry ice. It even maintains its temperature for quite a while when unplugged.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that clean technology can come in all shapes and sizes. The Cryo Porter shows that even something simple like a refrigerator can be drastically improved with a focus on sustainability and different use situations.
