At the Campus Farm at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, students are driving sustainability forward - literally. With a new solar-powered cooler, delivery vehicle, and energy management system, they’re reducing carbon emissions, keeping food fresh, and powering a new generation of climate leaders.
The Campus Farm has long served as a living laboratory where students test ideas that combine environmental stewardship with practical applications. This latest project combines solar-powered produce delivery and cold storage to reduce the farm's carbon emissions and increase system resilience. It was developed in collaboration with faculty, staff, and industry partners, including Students for Clean Energy, the College of Engineering’s Multidisciplinary Design Program, and Utopian Power. Funded by private donors and the Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund, the initiative provides a working model of how renewable energy can support local food systems.
How It Works
The system consists of four main components: a 13.2 kW solar array, an electric delivery truck, an insulated-refrigerated shipping container that serves as the farm’s produce cooler, and an Energy Management System (EMS). During the day, solar panels generate clean energy that powers the farm’s cooler and charges the delivery truck. The student-designed EMS continuously makes real-time decisions to minimize emissions, prioritize renewable energy, and optimize the system’s efficiency.
When sunlight dips, the system prioritizes using grid power during periods when the electrical grid is running on cleaner, lower-emission energy sources. On cloudy days or at night, the cooler shifts into energy-saving modes, and the truck only charges if the battery is low and a delivery is scheduled, helping to prioritize smart, efficient, lower-carbon energy use.
In addition to reducing emissions, the system improves resilience. In the event of a power outage, the truck’s battery can supply backup power to the cooler, preventing food waste and demonstrating how renewable energy can enhance reliability.
Real-World Impact
The system is projected to save over 37,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year, equivalent to taking 3.9 gasoline-powered cars off the road for a year or planting 278 trees.
But the impact is much bigger than the emissions saved. For students, this is hands-on education at its most real. They’re designing smart systems, balancing real-world trade-offs, and managing projects that combine engineering, sustainability, public health, and food access.
By integrating renewable energy with EMS and electric vehicle delivery into daily farm operations, the Campus Farm is modeling the future of sustainability in agriculture and beyond. This project not only helps the university move toward its carbon neutrality goals but also showcases the power of student innovation. This is sustainability in action - designed, built, and powered by the next generation of environmental leaders.
Want to learn more? Visit mbgna.umich.edu/solartruck to explore how students are shaping the future of sustainable food systems.
