Staples Vegetables in Lincolnshire has become the first UK fresh produce supplier to operate battery and solar-powered transport refrigeration. The farm, which supplies brassicas, leeks, potatoes and sweetcorn to major retailers, has added two Sunswap Endurance units to its trailers.
The system eliminates diesel use for cooling, with solar energy supplying 96% of the units’ power since they began operating in June 2025. The company expects the technology to cut its transport refrigeration costs by 78% and reduce total ownership costs by 27% over ten years.
Performance during a 12-day trial in 2023 showed that the refrigeration system could hold temperature in hot summer conditions when field heat is at its highest. Over the next decade, the switch is projected to save 256 tonnes of carbon emissions.
Staples already generates its own renewable power through two anaerobic digestion plants. The move reflects the wider trend of retailers pressing their suppliers to cut carbon output, with transport refrigeration historically consuming 4,000–5,000 litres of diesel per unit each year.
Sunswap manufactures the Endurance units in Surrey and has rolled out the technology to other operators including Tesco, Birds Eye and Samworth Brothers.