Eco Factor: Collapsible shipping containers to reduce carbon footprint.
Going by the statistics, about 26 percent of all containers shipped every year originate in China, and most of them are returned empty, but they take up the same amount of space on a ship. Dutch firm Cargoshell is demonstrating a new breed of shipping containers that can collapse to one-fourth of their original size, meaning that more containers can be shipped back to the source in less space.
The containers take about 30 seconds to fold and unfold and have roll-up doors, which means that containers can now be stacked closer together. Since the containersare made from composite materials, they are 25 percent lighter than standard shipping containers, which can help international shipping firms reduce their carbon footprint.
The developers claim that the collapsible shipping containers require only a third of the CO2 to produce as steel containers, which can green the manufacturing process as well. However, the only downside of the containers is that they cost three times as much as the steel containers which they aim to replace.
Via: Environmental Leader
