Imagine every fridge in a restaurant or supermarket having a tiny, cheap sensor that watches the temperature around the clock and sends alerts to your phone if something goes wrong. Right now, most businesses still check fridge temperatures by hand because automated systems cost a fortune — around €600 just for the hardware. KoolZone built a plug-and-play monitoring device that costs only €110 upfront and €7.50 a month, with zero installation hassle. It also generates the compliance reports that food inspectors want to see, so businesses stay legal without the paperwork headache.
Most food businesses — restaurants, supermarkets, caterers — still check fridge temperatures by hand because automated monitoring systems cost €600 or more just for the hardware, plus installation and software fees. When a fridge fails overnight or on weekends, nobody knows until the stock is ruined. Many businesses compensate by over-cooling, wasting energy, while still risking food safety violations and the 1 million food poisoning cases diagnosed annually in the UK alone.
KoolZone delivered a PoC prototype control system that enables remote switching of refrigerators via LoRa WAN, with automatic monitoring and a cloud-based reporting portal for HACCP compliance. They also delivered an improved system design with breakpoints eliminated, moving the product toward reliable, manufacturable hardware at €110 per unit.
If you are a grocery retailer dealing with overnight fridge failures that destroy stock before anyone notices — this project developed a €110 plug-and-play monitor with 24/7 alerts that replaces manual temperature logs. It auto-generates HACCP compliance reports, cutting both food waste from undetected breakdowns and the staff time spent on manual checks.
If you are a catering business that over-cools fridges to avoid food poisoning lawsuits — this project built a monitoring system at €7.50 per month per unit that tracks temperatures continuously and proves compliance during inspections. Instead of paying €600 per unit for existing automated systems, you get the same coverage at a fraction of the cost with zero on-site integration.
If you are a cold chain operator worried about stock losses from refrigeration failures during off-hours — this project created a remote monitoring platform that can switch refrigerators on or off automatically via LoRa WAN. With 1 million food poisoning cases diagnosed annually in the UK alone, regulators are tightening enforcement, and this system keeps you ahead of mandatory temperature monitoring requirements.
The KoolZone hardware costs €110 upfront with a €7.50 per month subscription that includes the SaaS reporting platform. Existing automated temperature logging systems cost around €600 for hardware alone, before any software or integration fees. KoolZone is designed as genuine plug-and-play with zero on-site integration costs.
The project was specifically funded under the SME Instrument Phase 2 to scale up manufacturing and port the system to scalable, secure communication and network protocols including LoRa WAN. The PoC prototype demonstrated both remote manual control and automatic switching of refrigerators through the platform.
The IP is held by KoolZone Tracking Systems GmbH, the German SME that coordinated the project. As an SME Instrument project, the company retains commercial rights. Licensing or partnership inquiries would go through KoolZone directly.
Yes, HACCP compliance was a core design goal. The system includes a user portal with functionality to generate reports that satisfy HACCP inspections. Food temperature monitoring is mandatory in the UK, EU, US, Far East, and Australia, and KoolZone was built specifically to automate this compliance at low cost.
The project developed the system to work with LoRa WAN, a long-range, low-power wireless protocol well suited for building-wide sensor networks. The scale-up phase focused on porting to scalable, secure communication and network protocols. The team solved technical challenges around battery life, low-power electronics, and antenna design.
The project ran from October 2017 to September 2019 and is now closed. Deliverables included a PoC prototype control system and an improved system with breakpoints eliminated. Based on available project data, the company had working prototypes before the project and used the funding to enhance manufacturability for market launch.
This is a lean, commercially focused consortium — just 2 partners across Germany and the UK, both from industry with zero universities or research institutes involved. The 100% industry ratio and SME-led structure tell you this was never an academic exercise; it was a scale-up play by a company that already had a working product. With EUR 1,919,750 in EU funding through the competitive SME Instrument Phase 2 programme, KoolZone Tracking Systems GmbH had the resources to move from prototype to production-ready manufacturing.
KoolZone Tracking Systems GmbH (Germany) — contact via company website or SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction
Want to integrate low-cost refrigeration monitoring into your food safety operations? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the KoolZone team and help evaluate fit for your specific cold chain setup.
