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In Trentino's Non Valley, apples have begun to travel suspended in mid-air. The Melinda Consortium, in collaboration with the Leitner Group, created the "Apple Cableway", the world's first cableway designed to transport fruit. The line is 1.3 kilometers long and climbs over 90 meters. It connects the Apple processing room to underground storage facilities constructed within a mine. In the underground tunnels, the natural temperature of the rock favors cold storage. Up to 30% more energy is saved than in standard warehouses. The cableway can transport 460 300-kilogram containers per hour at a speed of 5 m/s. The system also makes advantage of gravity: the weight of the apples descending powers the apparatus. The benefits also extend to the surrounding neighborhood. Over 5,000 truck trips are avoided each year, resulting in reduced traffic on valley roads and lower emissions. It shows how technology developed for Alpine tourism can benefit agriculture. Now, the fruit gets to its destination in the same way as skiers do.
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