Sustainable Temperature Monitoring for Cold Supply Chains

Temperature monitoring and logging play a critical role in maintaining product quality in the pharmaceutical industry, both during storage and transportation. Beyond pharmaceuticals, many industries that depend on cold and frozen supply chains face a similar challenge: the widespread use of portable electronic devices that are often single-use and difficult to recycle or compost.

Within the ECOTRON project, ITENE has taken a step towards addressing this issue by redesigning temperature monitoring devices using recent advances in printed electronics. The new designs incorporate recycled materials as well as alternative materials with improved recyclability and recoverability, aiming to reduce the environmental footprint of these devices.

Several prototypes have already been developed to explore the potential for scalable manufacturing using these more sustainable approaches. This is a crucial step in ensuring that environmentally improved designs can move beyond the lab and into real-world applications.

The devices are currently undergoing testing under real-life storage conditions within the clinical supply chain at J&J Innovative Medicine in Belgium. In parallel, laboratory testing is planned to further assess their performance and durability during transportation.

These developments highlight how innovation in materials and design can contribute to more sustainable solutions in temperature-sensitive supply chains, without compromising reliability or performance.