Experts have developed a solar-powered ice maker, Global Seafood Alliance reported — a clean energy breakthrough that could reshape fishing communities by cutting costs, reducing pollution, and making it easier to preserve fresh catches.
In late 2024, a team of experts provided Kawa, a community in Indonesia's Maluku province, with a solar-powered ice maker, giving local tuna fishers reliable access to ice without relying on diesel fuel or a strained electricity grid.
Developed by experts in a new partnership including GIZ Indonesia, AIREF, the International Pole & Line Foundation, PT Aneka Sumber Tata Bahari, and Dinas Kelautan dan Perikanan Provinsi Maluku, this solar-powered ice-making machine is the first of its kind made for small-scale fisheries.
The unit can produce around 16 metric tons of ice monthly, helping reduce spoilage and allowing fishers to sell higher-quality fish at fairer prices.
Frank Stegmüller, GIZ's Lead for Industry Decarbonization & Energy Island Solutions, said that the solar-powered ice maker is "a revolution in the making."
The ice maker saved them 4,290 liters of fuel in its first year, preventing around 40 metric tons of carbon pollution, according to the outlet.
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Having a local ice-making system has also helped them reduce waste, since fishers no longer need disposable packaging for transporting ice — eliminating over 2 metric tons' worth of plastic waste.
Our Power noted that traditional ice machines rely heavily on electricity, often derived from fossil fuel sources, which contributes to air pollution.
The solar-powered Kawa ice maker marks a breakthrough in clean energy solutions for the fishing industry. If further developed, this system could be adopted on a much larger scale and boost not only small-scale fisheries but also the global fishing industry as a whole.
According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, using solar power to produce ice and refrigerate can help rural communities improve fish quality and preservation while mitigating environmental impact.
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As for Kawa, the team is working with government partners and local organizations to find additional suitable sites, treating the system as a proven prototype for expanding solar-powered ice makers to similar fishing communities.
"Our goal now is to replicate this success across other one-by-one tuna fishing communities where we can have the biggest impact," IPNLF Fisheries Director Craig Turley said.
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