A UK power company, Eastern Electric, has pioneered a technique to prevent fresh fruit from ripening and decaying in storage. Normally, fruits stored in refrigerated warehouses continue to ripen because the warehouse is not quite air tight. Moreover, whenever the warehouse is opened, the sudden increase in oxygen accelerates decay.

However, by creating a nitrogen atmosphere in warehouses, decay can be prevented. The technique employs a portable nitrogen generator, which was developed in collaboration with the Industrial Energy Efficiency Centre, to create the right atmosphere in the warehouses, preventing rotting.