Teens Invent Salt-Powered Fridge, Transforming Rural Healthcare

Quick Smiles:

• Three inventive teens from India have crafted a unique fridge that requires no electricity, using the power of salt.
• Their creation, Thermavault, is set to revolutionize rural healthcare by keeping medical supplies cool without traditional power sources.
• With 200 units headed to hospitals for testing, these young innovators have already earned the prestigious 2025 Earth Prize.

Three young minds from India have embarked on a mission to enhance healthcare in rural areas by inventing a portable refrigerator that operates without electricity or coolant fluids.

Their creation, Thermavault, uses the dissolving process of salts in water to achieve cooling, eliminating the need for power outlets or batteries.

This innovative fridge, described as “a fridge to bridge the world,” can maintain temperatures just above or below freezing, catering to the specific needs of various medical supplies.

Dhruv Chaudhary, Mithran Ladhania, and Mridul Jain, all with family ties to the medical field, were motivated by the challenges of transporting COVID-19 vaccines to remote villages.

The teens utilized the principle that dissolving salt in water absorbs heat, thereby cooling the water.

“While we did scour through the entire internet to find the best salt possible, we kind of just ended up back to our ninth-grade science textbook,” Chaudhary shared.

After testing various salts, they found that barium hydroxide octahydrate and ammonium chloride were the most effective for their needs.

Ammonium chloride alone cools water to between 2 and 6 degrees Celsius, suitable for many vaccines, while barium hydroxide octahydrate can lower the temperature further.

Dr. Pritesh Vyas, an orthopedic surgeon, confirmed, “We have been able to keep the vaccines inside the Thermavault for almost 10 to 12 hours.”

The teens have already tested their prototype in local hospitals and are preparing 200 more units for further testing in 120 hospitals around Indore.

Their groundbreaking work earned them the 2025 Earth Prize, along with a $12,500 reward to support the mass testing phase.

These young inventors are a testament to the power of creativity and determination in addressing real-world challenges.

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