New Centre of Excellence in Indian state of Haryana will provide hi-tech training facilities and demonstration labs.
A fast-track ‘mini centre of excellence’ will help Indian farmers get more of their produce to market.
A fast-track ‘mini centre of excellence’ will kick-start Haryana’s drive towards sustainable cooling whilst work gets underway on a major resource to help Indian farmers get more of their produce to market.
The Haryana-UK Centre of Excellence on Sustainable crop Post-harvest Management & Cold-Chain (CoE-SPMCC) will create a comprehensive national framework focused on sustainable Post-Harvest Management (PHM) practices.
Backed by State of Haryana Government funding, the first phase of the £10.2 million Centre now has the go-ahead. The £727,000 ‘mini-centre’ will provide state-of-the-art training facilities and demonstration labs covering a range of sustainable cooling technology.
Sustainable cold chains are critical infrastructure, vital for a well-functioning society and economy. They underpin access to safe and nutritious food and health, as well as the ability to drive economic growth, and deliver socioeconomic development.
A refrigeration training block will provide hands-on learning in refrigerant handling, energy performance testing, and solar energy applications. Telemetric labs will support advanced technical learning with the site expected to start initial operations within the next year.
The initial stage of the Centre will allow experts to ramp up activities to boost progress on sustainable cooling – providing foundation courses, training for government officials, orientation courses and seminars for cold storage owners and growers, as well as ‘Train the Trainer’ courses, and engineering testing and training.
This project is funded by the Govt. of Haryana and receives technical support from the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), University of Birmingham experts are leading a consortium of UK and international universities providing technical assistance to help develop the Centre. The consortium includes Heriot-Watt University, Cranfield University and London South Bank University.
Sh. Pankaj Agarwal, IAS, Principal Secretary, Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Department, Govt. of Haryana, detailed that this initiative, driven in partnership with academia and industry, will accelerate the adoption of efficient, sustainable practices across the horticultural value chain.
HoD (Special), Department of Horticulture, Haryana, Dr. Arjun Singh Saini, commented that by integrating advanced refrigeration technologies and post-harvest management practices with hands-on, real-world training, the Department is facilitating a platform for skilled workforce capable of delivering sustainable cold chain solutions. These efforts are aimed at directly enhancing farmers’ incomes and contributing to improved national food security.
Consortium leader Toby Peters, Professor of Cold Economy at the University of Birmingham, commented: “Sustainable cold chains are critical infrastructure, vital for a well-functioning society and economy. They underpin access to safe and nutritious food and health, as well as the ability to drive economic growth, and deliver socioeconomic development.
“Getting this critical project off the ground represents a significant step towards helping Indian farmers get more of their produce to market – providing Indian families with high quality, affordable and sustainable food.”
This collaborative effort marks a significant step forward in strengthening India’s cold-chain infrastructure, with Haryana leading the way in sustainable and holistic solutions which will be researched, developed and deployed through the CoE-SPMCCC.
Progress on the Centre comes as the University of Birmingham prepares to host a major international conference to tackle the challenge of delivering clean, affordable, and resilient cold-chain systems for the Global South.
‘Sustainable Cold-Chain for the Global South’ brings together global stakeholders - including academics, development agencies, NGOs, industry leaders, and investors. Sustainable cooling and agriculture experts from India and Africa will attend the conference.
The conference on 28–29 October 2025 will address barriers to implementation, identify practical solutions, and explore research, trade, and commercial opportunities for the UK and beyond.
For more information, please contact the University of Birmingham press office or call +44 (0) 121 414 2772.
The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions, its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 8,000 international students from over 150 countries.
The Department of Horticulture (DoH), Govt. of Haryana, is an extension department and is responsible for demonstration of horticulture technologies and transfer to the farmers and other stakeholders. Department has 12 Centres of Excellences on different fruits & vegetable technologies and have collaboration with various national and international agencies. DoH has rewarded as one of the best implementing agency to develop Haryana as Horticulture State in India.
Professor in Cold Economy
Professor Toby Peters is an award-winning technology developer and industrial academic with more than 14 years of experience in energy storage /energy systems.
