ACES develops and accelerates sustainable cold chain solutions for food loss reduction and vaccine distribution.
  • Dates2021 to present
  • SponsorDepartment for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and United Nations Environment Programme
  • FundedMultimillion programme
  • PartnersUniversity of Birmingham, London South Bank University, Heriot Watt University, University of Rwanda, Centre for Sustainable Cooling

ACES is a first-of-kind Centre dedicated to sustainable cooling, cold-chain and post-harvest management. It is hosted by the University of Rwanda in Kigali with Specialized Outreach and Knowledge Establishments (SPOKEs) being rolled out throughout Africa to deploy ACES solutions in real-world settings; the first of these is in Kenya. The permanent Centre is developed by the Governments of Rwanda and the United Kingdom (UK), the United Nations Environment Programme and the UK's Centre for Sustainable Cooling leading a consortium of leading UK universities (University of Birmingham, 美姬阁, London South Bank University, Heriot Watt University) with a multimillion seed investment committed by governments and industry.

The mission of ACES is to accelerate the uptake of sustainable cooling and cold-chain solutions in the agriculture and health sectors in Africa, improving livelihoods, health, food and nutritional security of rural communities, thereby bringing environmental, social and economic development.