An overwhelming majority, a whopping 94% of Swedes, prefer to drink their beer chilled (Hmm, are we really surprised? see norrlandsguld.se/kallolrapporten for more info), but we don’t always have a fridge or ice with us to do the job. We need a way to keep our favorite beer at the right temp during those sunny summer days when we are out and about. Is this even possible without electricity from the grid or complicated super expensive rocket science technology? Well actually, it is. In fact it’s been going on for a very long time. The problem is that nobody has invented a convenient beer friendly solution until now! That’s why we entered Norrlands Gulds Cold Tech Challenge to begin with, we have been discussing this problem for some time now, but we have been just a little too busy with everyday stuff like designing towers for wind turbines, boats and so on, (see ERIGOVIS and Anytec for more info). But there comes a time when you have to put your foot down and do what is really important, solve the “warm beer problem” once and for all! We faced this gargantuan task, we stared it in the face, we haven’t shied away and we solved this problem. We have the solution, we have the know-how and we have a dedicated team ready, but we can’t do this alone. We need the support of beer-lovers from around the world to rally to our cry, “Chilled beer for all”! With your help, we can make this happen.
Every beer-lover that has ever been out on a boat, at the beach, in a cabin by a lake, on a weekend-trip or just a picnic knows that perfect moment when you are basking in the sun’s warming rays and you reach for a thirst quenching beer, you can already taste that refreshing coolness and then, NOOOO! The ice has melted and that once perfectly chilled beer is no longer what it was meant to be. Don’t let yourself and your fellow beer-lovers down time and time again. You can be that guy, that hero who saves the day! The Charcooler will chill your warm beer worries away!
The Charcooler utilizes a long proven technique to cool air in a new improved, easy to use, modern “Beerplication”. We simply use well-known evaporative cooling to produce a flow of chilled air that can maintain a cool inner temperature in a cooler. Sounds easy, right! Well, the trick is to design a product that fits the bill. And by that we mean a beer cooler designed for the right purpose (a chilled brew away from home) and fulfill that purpose in an efficient sustainable manner. Who better to do this than two beer-loving guys who thrive on adventure and the outdoors! And it doesn’t hurt that we are problem-solving engineers with extensive experience in developing new and exciting ideas.
Our Beerplication is a new beer cooler with a practical box-shape that will be designed to hold up to twelve beer cans. Two walls of the cooler are filled with charcoal that is kept constantly moist by water from a small refillable reservoir in the cooler. When hot dry air flows through the charcoal-filled walls evaporation takes place cooling the incoming airflow into the cooler. This technology has a proven track record and has been used for centuries. The trick is making it convenient and efficient for practical portable use. This is where we apply modern technology like lightweight insulating material; low-voltage, energy-efficient, compact-sized fans batteries and control technology as well as solar panels. temperature can be adjusted and energy levels monitored to see if you have extra capacity to charge your phone, pad, pod or whatever you have with you that needs charging.
That’s a lot of modern gadgetry do we really need all that? Well as we said, we want it to be convenient and efficient. For example, it is important to control the moisture content of the charcoal in order to optimize the evaporation process and it is also necessary to have an even flow of air through the charcoal into the cooler to create efficient chilling. Further, inside and outside temperatures need to be monitored to start and stop the fan as needed to ensure optimal energy use and even battery charging from the solar panels needs to be controlled. The neat part is that all this information can be seen by the beer-lover in the accompanying cooler App. With an easy to use App
Our objectives and main goal is to create a beer cooler that can be used on outings where grid electricity for cooling isn’t readily available. We want beer-lovers to enjoy their beer chilled anytime, anywhere without any hassles. Our beer chill goal is a cooler that can maintain a constant temperature of about 8-10 degrees Celsius during normal operation and preferably even have a custom fitted ice pack to quickly chill beer to lower temperatures. We also want to be able to monitor and control temperature with our App. Our first beer capacity goal is a cooler big enough to hold at least twelve beers. Our sustainability goal is to utilize solar panels for off-grid electricity production and to use energy-efficient components that minimize energy consumption and also to use materials that are as recyclable as possible.
Our Vision is also another objective for our long term product development. We have an idea to convert our beer cooler into a cooler for preserving medicine, vaccine and other vital necessities that are needed in developing countries or in regions in conflict or catastrophe where electrical grids are non-existent, unreliable or unusable. A cooler like ours with an appropriate App will be able to keep track of the cooler, know when and where it is opened, what is keep in the cooler, how much is left and even continually monitor conditions in order to know if the contents are safe to use. So in helping us develop a beer cooler you are paving the way for a product that might just be used to save the lives of future refugees or others in need.
Cold Tech Challenge is a global innovation contest where Swedish beer brand Norrlands Guld, together with the Swedish Inventors’ Association and FundedByMe searched for the perfect solution to cool beer. Among participants from over 25 countries, including USA, India, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, China, France, Great Britain, Sweden and Brazil they hand picked five finalists for a live pitch. We met the jury in Stockholm and where judged based on the assessment criterias innovation height, feasibility, customer benefits and sustainability and then, finally, we became the proud winners. In fact, Norrlands Guld believe in us and The Charcooler to the extent that they already decided to back our project with 50 000 SEK (Swedish Krona). Thats something, ain’t it.