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<p>Global food security faces unprecedented challenges from postharvest losses, energy-intensive cold chains, and climate change impacts on agricultural production. Conventional refrigeration systems, while effective, contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions through energy consumption and refrigerant leakage. Radiative cooling (RC) technology offers a transformative, zero-energy alternative by exploiting the atmospheric transparency window (8–13&#xa0;µm) to dissipate heat directly to outer space. This comprehensive review synthesizes recent advances in RC materials and their integration into agri-food systems, spanning food packaging, postharvest storage, cold chain transportation, and agricultural production. We examine material innovations including bio-based polymers, nanostructured composites, and hybrid systems that achieve solar reflectance exceeding 90% and mid-infrared emissivity above 94%, delivering temperature reductions of 4–18&#xa0;°C under field conditions. Field deployments exhibit significant advantages, including extended shelf life, decreased energy usage up to 573 GWh/year in grain storage, and improved agricultural output. Despite promising results, barriers to widespread adoption include material durability, scalability challenges, and economic competitiveness with established cooling technologies. This review provides a roadmap for advancing RC technologies from laboratory innovations to commercial deployment, emphasizing their potential to revolutionize sustainable food systems in both developed and resource limited settings.</p>

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Radiative Cooling Technologies in Agri-food Systems: From Material Innovation to Field Deployment—Review

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月23日

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  • Aminu Abdullahi,
  • Tarangini Korumilli,
  • K. Jagajjanani Rao

摘要

Global food security faces unprecedented challenges from postharvest losses, energy-intensive cold chains, and climate change impacts on agricultural production. Conventional refrigeration systems, while effective, contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions through energy consumption and refrigerant leakage. Radiative cooling (RC) technology offers a transformative, zero-energy alternative by exploiting the atmospheric transparency window (8–13 µm) to dissipate heat directly to outer space. This comprehensive review synthesizes recent advances in RC materials and their integration into agri-food systems, spanning food packaging, postharvest storage, cold chain transportation, and agricultural production. We examine material innovations including bio-based polymers, nanostructured composites, and hybrid systems that achieve solar reflectance exceeding 90% and mid-infrared emissivity above 94%, delivering temperature reductions of 4–18 °C under field conditions. Field deployments exhibit significant advantages, including extended shelf life, decreased energy usage up to 573 GWh/year in grain storage, and improved agricultural output. Despite promising results, barriers to widespread adoption include material durability, scalability challenges, and economic competitiveness with established cooling technologies. This review provides a roadmap for advancing RC technologies from laboratory innovations to commercial deployment, emphasizing their potential to revolutionize sustainable food systems in both developed and resource limited settings.