What will the future bring for the ATP Agreement provisions?

I. Introduction

Should measures entering into force to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from transport also change the provisions of the ATP Agreement? The text below is a reflection on the future of the ATP Agreement in the context of climate change and related changes in regulations governing electricity consumption of refrigeration equipment and the environmental impact of their operation. New solutions may require changes in how equipment is classified and used. Traditional equipment with a single thermal energy source providing cooling may be replaced by insulated equipment with several sources, charging at night and supporting the traditional system. The current classification of equipment as refrigerated by a mechanical unit may no longer be satisfactory. Higher ambient temperatures and further energy savings may require better or thicker insulation, and changes in trade and transport policy may mean that the shelf life of highly perishable food will be longer. ATP Agreement provisions should keep pace with globalisation and technical development. A good example is the Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), which since entering into force in 1968 has undergone two major revisions. The first in 1978 and the second in 2001 completely changed the system, allowing the rules to be adapted to technical realities. Click here to learn more about accredited testing compliant with the ATP Agreement at COCH We perform testing of means of transport covered by the ATP Agreement for: 1. Thermally insulated road means of transport intended for carriage of highly perishable foodstuffs; 2. Isothermal containers for road, rail and sea cargo transport enabling transfers between the above different modes of transport; 3. Insulated means of transport for temperature-sensitive goods – containers.

II. What was the history of food transport?

It may be hard to believe, but until the end of the 19th century food production and consumption were purely local matters. Except for dried or salted food, it could not be stored for long. This was undoubtedly a brake on the development of larger enterprises and food distribution networks. Storing perishable food outside the correct temperature range can stimulate the growth of pathogens and microorganisms that cause spoilage and, consequently, make the product inedible. Industrial development in the 19th century found a way to lower temperature with machines capable of transporting food over long distances. From the 1840s, refrigerated vehicles were used to transport milk and butter. By 1860 refrigerated transport was mainly limited to seafood and dairy products. A refrigerated railway car was patented by J.B. Sutherland of Detroit, Michigan in 1867. He designed an insulated car with ice containers at each end. Air entered from above, passed through the bunkers and circulated in the car by gravity, controlled by hanging flaps that created differences in air temperature. Ever wider distribution of fresh food products contributed to market development and healthier human nutrition. Refrigerated rail car year 1873 – photo owned by Refrigerated Specialists Inc. The Second World War accelerated technical development, including in refrigerated transport. Only at the end of the 1930s did it become possible to use refrigerated road vehicles thanks to reduction of equipment size, which at that time was very rare and costly. In the 1950s mechanical refrigeration equipment became more common in commercial activity. Still at the beginning of the 1950s trucks were built with an ice chamber. The method of “deep freezing” products was popularised and the frozen food trade developed rapidly. Only at the end of the 20th century did accelerated deep freezing gain worldwide recognition and become a key technology increasing company competitiveness. This new technique developed in the United States and spread worldwide. The brief history of refrigerated transport outlined above is a good reference point for considering development of the ATP programme. Early UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) treaties aimed to accelerate economic recovery after World War II and were initiated around 1948. The ATP document, however, proved challenging and required rewriting. It was signed in 1970 by Austria, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland. It finally entered into force in 1977 when the first five countries implemented it into national legislation. It should be stressed, however, that ATP provisions entering into force in the 1970s were largely based on the state of the art of the 1950s. Taking the refrigerating capacity of machines of the 1960s, multiplying it by 1.35 and taking into account equipment sizes of the time, one can find the source of the K value (overall heat transfer coefficient) equal to 0.4 W/(m²·K). Another example is global containerisation, which really began to develop in the mid-1960s, and the use of sea containers was squeezed into ATP at the last moment before the treaty was signed, given all the problems ATP equipment faced on ferry decks. Since the Agreement entered into force several amendments have been introduced, inter alia acceptance of insulation tests performed in one country and separate type approval certificates for mechanical thermal units. Some Contracting Parties applied ATP in domestic transport, while most did not. The content of ATP rules today is considered too complex, and additional complexity does not improve food safety and transport. Moreover, clarity of the regulation is limited by inconsistent use of terms. Further work by the Commission can therefore be expected to simplify the rules and unify terms so that they do not raise doubts when applied by end users.

III. What future awaits the ATP rules?

Let us therefore look at the milestones of the coming decades in the context of refrigerated transport of foodstuffs.

Year 2050 – the goal

The year 2050 is a point on the horizon for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. It is a goal set in Europe-wide regulations – Roadmap 2050. The mission of this project is to provide practical, independent and objective analysis of pathways to a low-carbon economy in Europe by 2050. It is currently expected that combustion engines will be replaced by electric motors. These rules were recently presented by the European Commission - a ban on the sale of new passenger cars and vans with diesel and petrol engines in the European Union was voted through and is to enter into force from 2035, a significant step towards the region’s ambitious environmental goals. The goal becomes that electricity will come from renewable sources such as wind and sun, and hydrogen is to be the fuel of the future. It is expected that diesel will still come from renewable sources such as algae. Whether heavy goods vehicles will be powered by diesel depends on technology development, but if so it will not be the current arrangement driving the wheels, but diesel powering a generator driving an electric motor. It is very likely that the mechanical refrigeration unit will be electrified for the same purpose. Heavy goods vehicles will probably also face separate legal regulations, but the limiting factor seems to be development of efficient technologies that can replace traditional engines. Many projects are still only a vision of the future. Food is a basic life need that cannot be done without. As mentioned above, refrigeration is still essential for year-round feeding of the world and will require significant energy inputs. This means refrigerated transport will remain important and its cost will involve large amounts of energy. Certainly over the next three decades machine energy efficiency will be improved.

Year 2030 – years of technology development

Only 8 years remain until 2030; until then we will be in a transitional period. Older vehicles and ATP equipment will remain in service, but new solutions will continue to appear. Several solutions and options will operate in parallel. Differences will be most visible in distribution transport in urban areas or so-called low-emission zones. In long-distance transport changes are expected to be limited. Already a strong tendency is visible for transport companies to replace fleets with electric vehicles. Especially as many countries still offer favourable rules for charging electric vehicles and subsidies for photovoltaic technologies that can be coupled with vehicle charging technology. Large initial capital outlays are offset by low operating costs. In distribution transport electrification will certainly become a fact. It is possible that the refrigeration unit will be battery-powered or in a hybrid configuration with a combustion engine operating outside built-up urban areas. They may be powered by the truck. There are possibilities of charging solar batteries on the equipment roof and recovering vehicle braking energy - recuperation (English: kinetic energy recovery system). In long-distance transport changes will be limited. There will certainly be pressure on pollutant emissions from new combustion engines driving refrigeration units, and new type approvals for refrigeration units can be expected, but diesel will still be present. The beginning of a shift to electric drive may also be observed. This depends on developments such as overhead power lines on some road sections and availability of electricity at car parks at night. Already today food deliveries, including perishable food, are made via online shopping; particular growth of this activity is owed to the recent COVID-19 pandemic period and rules limiting social contacts in most countries worldwide. In general, deliveries are made by the trading companies themselves, operating on a national scale and thus outside the scope of ATP and outside control. In the future there may be an increase in on-demand deliveries that may be carried out on an international scale.

Year 2040 – transitional period

In 2040 it may become clear which systems prove most cost-effective in 2050. Additional geopolitical factors may also play a significant role here. The war in Ukraine prompted the European Union to make stepwise changes to fossil energy supply chains and to tighten the course towards transition to renewable sources, which by the 2040s may already be well developed. Old equipment will be replaced by transitional equipment, and electric drive will become more popular; vehicles with traditional engines will face problems with maintenance and servicing. Refrigeration equipment powered solely by diesel may already be being withdrawn from use, and it may turn out that for frozen food transport and long-distance cold transport equipment with different insulation will be used depending on power supply costs. The above considerations are fiction because no one knows for sure what will happen. However, given the world situation in recent years these considerations seem justified. A new, significant invention may suddenly appear that changes everything. But can it become clear, on the basis of the above fictional formulations, how to prepare the ATP Agreement for the future?

IV. What should be taken into account in the ATP rules given the state of the art today and the prospects and direction of its development?

• New emission rules limiting pollution and carbon dioxide emissions from combustion engines

Emissions from combustion engines driving refrigeration units will continue to be restricted in the coming years. Greater use of more environmentally friendly refrigerants can also be expected, such as the new class of refrigerants, HFOs (Hydrofluoro-Olefins), developed by Honeywell and Dupont. This refrigerant contains no chlorine and has a much lower global warming impact coefficient than current HFC substitutes. For future refrigerants more redesign of cooling systems can be expected, because future refrigerants may require higher system pressures. Currently ATP rules address this issue by introducing a system enabling existing type approvals for one refrigerant to be adapted to another based on experience with the effects of other similar tests and results. As a short-term solution, the possibility of introducing certain refrigerants into existing systems has also been allowed. It should be remembered that this is a transitional issue in which developments will level off. It can be discussed whether greater flexibility is possible in describing the “type” of mechanical refrigeration equipment and testing the worst case, which would allow better components to be used without reflecting those better parameters in the report.

• Use of more than one cooling and heating system

It can be expected that within the next 10 years the main drive of refrigeration equipment will be electric. The problem is delivering electricity - whether it will come from the equipment itself via a generator set or from the towing vehicle. One of the problems to be solved is ensuring electricity during carriage. It can be expected that at night, when the vehicle with equipment is parked, thermal/refrigeration energy produced by the grid may be stored. One can think of eutectic plates containing brine that absorbs energy and provides cold by melting during transport. This helps the mechanical unit during the day and reduces the demand for electricity in the equipment itself. Electricity may also be supplemented by solar cells placed on the equipment roof, which reduces solar radiation acting on the vehicle roof itself. The amount of energy opens a discussion of how to regard this energy source in the context of being an independent operating unit. The current ATP system is based on the state of the art of 1950–1960. At that time the equipment type was tested together with the thermal unit to be used. The basis was equipment with built-in ice containers still used in the 1950s. Choosing another brand or a new type of refrigeration unit required new tests for each equipment type. This led to the current system of separate type approval tests for mechanical refrigeration units and later liquid gas refrigeration systems. However, changes were not introduced in full; for example there is still no “type description” and sizing rules as for multi-temperature and multi-compartment equipment. The ATP Agreement can be discussed to agree a process in which the insulated body is always approved as such, and the cooling or heating system or systems should be added on the basis of energy demand by the body and the intended use of the equipment. In such cases the known classifications as “with a refrigeration system”, “with a mechanical refrigeration unit” or “with a mechanical refrigeration-heating unit” and their classifications can no longer be used. Within this issue attention should be paid to energy supply at public truck parking areas so that refrigeration equipment during night stops can pre-cool goods for the next day. This issue goes beyond the scope of the ATP Agreement, but the relevant parties in UNECE should be made aware of it.

• Use of better insulated equipment

A significant reduction in effective refrigerating capacity demand / energy (and pollution) consumption can be achieved by increasing wall thickness. In particular if the side walls of road equipment are increased to about 10 cm. At present the internal width of road vehicles in the European Union is limited to 260 cm if the side walls are at least 4.5 cm. Increasing width is only possible by increasing vehicle width, ceasing to use euro-pallets for refrigerated cargo or using more vehicles intended for carriage of loads at lower temperatures.

• Climate change and accession of new Contracting Parties to new climate zones

When calculating equipment performance on the basis of its insulation, a maximum ambient temperature of 30 °C is assumed. As maximum temperatures rise and warm periods lengthen, it should be discussed whether this will affect the ATP Agreement. The principle is that equipment approved by one Contracting Party must be accepted by the other Contracting Parties, which puts international transport at risk. Accession of new, more “southern” Contracting Parties also necessitates opening this discussion. It should be recalled, however, that ATP does not impose the equipment to be used, and determination of what equipment is appropriate for a given carriage is left to the consignor or carrier. Introduction of climate zones would, however, help obtain more energy-efficient equipment available for a given climate zone. The decision to use increased insulation, which may reduce payload, rests with carriers in warmer countries. This would follow from cooling costs but also from vehicle dimension limits in the European Union. The classification and marking system can be discussed. Other markings can be envisaged, such as “E” for −20/+20 °C, “F” for −20/+30 °C, “G” for −20/+40 °C. Carriers may better choose the equipment they will use. For zones with lower temperatures, such as Scandinavia and Northern Europe, this may lead to lighter systems and greater efficiency, while still taking into account global warming and new Contracting Parties.

• Use of maritime Reefer containers in inland transport

To protect the environment, modal shift is used where possible. There are ATP-approved containers, mainly regional containers, but most are globally circulating containers that are not ATP-approved. Goods are carried worldwide in these containers and if they are properly cared for on board ship they do not cause any health problems. However, ATP does not admit them for inland transport. Reefer-type containers As described above, when ATP was signed containerisation was only beginning on a global scale and its effects were not yet known. To protect the environment the best mode of carriage should be chosen, and sometimes the most effective may be shifting from road to rail or short-sea shipping. Container ships (but also ferries) are prepared to carry Reefer containers and equipped with electrical power supply for temperature maintenance. For rail this is more complicated, but modern container monitoring can also be introduced here. To facilitate modal shift, refrigerated containers circulating worldwide can be used under conditions where temperature can be maintained thanks to electrical power supply. As more and more ATP equipment will be electrically driven, this may become a lesser problem.

• Development of food production and supply systems

ATP is intended for international transport, which is generally carried out on long routes with a single load. It is said that in recent years there has been a change whereby long-distance international transport is being limited to ever shorter routes. On the other hand, supermarket networks that once operated in a given country are becoming increasingly international, and deliveries to supermarkets may cross borders. In distribution transport problems arise that differ from long-distance transport. The question of how to take distribution transport into account in ATP rules remains open.

• International postal shipments and packaging used in this transport

Packaging containing perishable foodstuffs carried by companies in international transport is not exempt from the provisions of the ATP Agreement. However, a certificate of conformity cannot be issued for every package. The discussion whether or not to include parcel shipments in the ATP rules remains open. Including parcel carriage will require a new type approval system, type marking and rules of use. Based on: Working document ECE/TRANS/WP.11/2020/8 (Vice-Chair of WP.11) - The ATP and the future