SPACECOOL INC. (hereinafter, “SPACECOOL”) has begun a demonstration experiment (hereinafter the “demonstration”) utilizing SPACECOOL, radiative sky cooling material (hereinafter the “material”), that enables cooling with zero energy. Aimed at relieving intense heat in the logistics industry and solving issues including the achievement of carbon neutrality, the demonstration is being conducted together with 12 logistics-related partners including Hino Motors, Ltd., Konoike Transport Co., Ltd., Suzuyo & Co., Ltd., and Eco Truck Co., Ltd. In the demonstration, the material is applied to the tops and sides of the freight boxes of frozen/refrigerated trucks and non-refrigerated trucks owned by the partners, to evaluate the effects on suppressing temperature rise inside the freight boxes and improving fuel efficiency during the summer.

The demonstration will display the ability of SPACECOOL to solve issues in the logistics industry and will spread the use of the material to trucks and distribution warehouses owned by the logistics industry.

SPACECOOL is a radiative sky cooling¹ material that blocks heat from sunlight and from the atmosphere under direct sunlight while also radiating heat to outer space through the radiative sky cooling technology, to lower the temperature below that of outside air without consuming energy. It is a high-performance, high-durability, flexible optical film (with adhesive), available in a lineup of two developed colors: silver and white.

Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Osaka Gas”) was selected as a representative company for a demonstration experiment at Yumeshima conducted by the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition and the Osaka Chamber of Commerce. From August 26, 2021, the scheduled venue for the Yumeshima Expo and the Osaka Gas Energy Gijutsu Research Institute fitted the material to the exteriors of freight boxes for 2-ton trucks, and demonstrated the effect of SPACECOOL in suppressing temperature rise inside the freight boxes. Drops of about 40°C in ceiling temperature and about 10°C in internal temperature were confirmed (Fig. 1).

As the material is an adhesive-backed film, it can be quickly and easily fitted directly to truck freight boxes. Application of designs to the material using inkjet printer or laser printer is also possible (Fig. 2).

The demonstration asked 12 cooperating partners to prepare trucks with differing capacities, route patterns, and freight box temperature zones such as frozen, refrigerated, and non-refrigerated. Trucks fitted with the material and trucks not fitted are operating in their areas; freight box interior temperatures, fuel consumption, and CO₂ reduction effects will be compared and evaluated.

If efficacy of the material can be obtained in actual driving environments, it is expected that temperatures inside freight boxes can be reduced, driver heat stroke can be prevented, deterioration of cargo due to high temperatures can be lessened, and temperature rise when engine idling is stopped can be alleviated, among other contributions to improving hot environments and achieving energy conservation, CO₂ reduction, and carbon neutrality.

¹ Achieved through material design that uses Osaka Gas’s proprietary radiative sky cooling technology to suppress thermal input from sunlight and increase thermal output through thermal radiation (the phenomenon by which the heat of a heated object is carried off in the form of electromagnetic waves and light).