JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — As countries roll out their vaccination drives, health and logistics sectors and pharmaceutical companies around the world are preparing their cold storage solutions across the chain to ensure safe and efficient transportation and storage of the COVID-19 vaccines at very low temperatures, ranging between minus 20° to minus 70°C.
Moderna has stressed that its vaccine must be kept at a freezing temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius for long-term storage (up to six months); while it can be stored for 30 days at a temperature ranging between 2°-8°C. As for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, it must be stored at minus 70°C. Meanwhile, the preservation and storage temperature of the Russian vaccine, Sputnik V, ranges between 2°-8°C.
Al Salem Johnson Controls, a provider of integrated HVACR, fire, safety and security systems, and building management systems solutions in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, and Yemen has extensive experience in the field of industrial refrigeration and the implementation of cold store projects as well as customizing and engineering refrigeration solutions to suit the requirements of each project, depending on the nature and needs of the materials being stored. The company is offering its expertise to support the health sector and pharmaceutical companies in equipping industrial cold stores with the latest technologies through systems that ensure temperatures set by each vaccine manufacturer.
Industrial Refrigeration
Al Salem Johnson Controls has vast experience in the customization, design, and development of industrial refrigeration projects and has implemented a number of large projects in several cities in various sectors, including logistics centers, refrigeration warehouses, meat and poultry factories, storage facilities for fruits and vegetables, processed food factories, water and beverages factories, medicine, dairy plants, and more.
Among the key industrial refrigeration projects and cold stores implemented by Al Salam Johnson Controls are: Shahini Holding Group in Riyadh, Transmed Distribution Company, Naqel Express, Al Rabie Saudi Foods Company, and three dairy, and ice cream factories of the Saudi Dairy and Food Company (SADAFCO).
The industrial refrigeration is not a standard system that can be used for all projects; it requires a thorough study of the project's facilities, utilizations, and nature of work. In manufacturing facilities, it is crucial to determine whether the system will be used to cool the facility, the production lines, or both. Therefore, as a first step, industrial refrigeration engineers at Al Salem Johnson Controls visit and study the site from all aspects, then design and develop a system according to its cooling requirements.
Transfer of Global Knowledge
Al Salem Johnson Controls’ 29 years partnership as a JV with Johnson Controls International enables them to provide its customers with the latest technologies and transfer its global expertise. Recently, Johnson Controls International was part of a team designing, developing, and implementing a cold store at the Danish Odense University Hospital by merging two industrial refrigeration systems that use ammonia and methane to reach the required cooling of the cold store, spreading across an area of 352 square meters. The system can reach a temperature of minus 80°C, which is close to the temperature needed to preserve and store COVID-19 vaccines. The system used SABROE Chillers, an industrial refrigeration solutions provider, under the umbrella of Johnson Controls International.
Al Salem Johnson Controls offers diverse industrial refrigeration systems, including a system that utilizes ammonia as a refrigerant, suitable for applications requiring a cooling capacity up to minus 45°C, while, for applications requiring lower temperatures, a system utilizing a combination of ammonia and methane is used. For more information, visit https://york.com.sa/en.
