Start with a count of all currently occupied cane positions across your existing vessels. This is your baseline. Add a 24-month growth projection based on your expected cycle volume increase — use 24 months rather than 12 because storage vessels are capital equipment and your procurement cycle needs to accommodate expansion rather than chasing it. Add 20 per cent contingency on top of that projected total to account for storage extensions, consent renewals, and samples that are retained beyond the anticipated collection timeline.
The resulting figure is your minimum vessel capacity requirement. Size your procurement for this number — not for today’s inventory, and not for your average occupancy. The vessel you select this quarter needs to perform reliably at your peak occupancy two years from now, during a liquid nitrogen supply delay, and in the 48 hours before a scheduled top-up.
Two other specifications matter alongside raw capacity. Static evaporation rate determines how long the vessel holds its fill level between top-ups — a lower rate gives more tolerance of supply disruptions and reduces the frequency of LN2 deliveries. Monitoring system compatibility is a licence condition under HFEA requirements — alarm thresholds must be set below the critical -130°C threshold and the monitoring system must be continuously active. Contact Cryolab to discuss CryoNest vessel options against your specific capacity calculation, or ask CryoGPT for initial guidance.
