As publicized by the gazette dated March 11, Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW) is going to make negotiated contracts with four companies (Iwatani, Air Water Carbonic, Showa Denko Gas Products and Nippon Ekitan) to supply dry ice to store vaccine for Covid-19 in 2021. The contracts will be concluded on April 1.

The vaccine developed by US Pfizer and German BioNTech and already inoculated in the USA requires a cryogenic storage at minus 75℃. Therefore MHLW is planning to supply 10 thousand deep freezers capable to store the vaccine at minus 75℃ to municipalities across the country. In line with the arrangement, MHLW has been procuring dry ice as a tentative measure until setting up of such freezers.

The diameter of dry ice required by MHLW is 9 to 16mm in a pellet form as specified by Pfizer. With regard to the pellet, in last December the ministry invited a public offering of 570t for the year of 2020, for which Iwatani concluded a contract.
Regarding a lot for the year of 2021, it seems to have been decided this time to make negotiated contracts with four dry ice manufacturers after repeated discussions with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the four manufacturers.

According to the officer of MHLW who responded to our interview on the telephone, an assumed volume of dry ice pellets to store vaccine will be 2000 tons for the year 2021, which is four times more than those in 2020. It follows that only one supplier will be unable to cover the need, and that is why we decided to make negotiated contracts with four manufacturers.

As for a regional allocation and role sharing among the four manufacturers, METI will take the major role to consider the present operation at this stage. After setting of the said deep freezers, there will be no longer requirement for dry ice rapidly. He said, “No activity will occur to procure dry ice for vaccine after 2022.”