Closed Loop Ventures Invests in Food Waste Reduction Tech Firm

Closed Loop Ventures (CLV), an early stage equity fund that invests in consumer goods, advanced recycling technologies and services supporting the circular economy, has made an investment in Rebound Technologies.  Rebound has developed IcePoint, a technology promising innovation in refrigeration. According to the firm, the technology can freeze more food in less time and use 40 percent less energy.

“This means less food waste and more revenue for farmers,” Rebound Technologies CEO Kevin Davis said in a statement. “IcePoint … also provides the operational flexibility to enable bursts of high capacity, on-demand cooling. This unique characteristic can speed up blast freezing times or mitigate peak electricity expenses, depending on the user’s optimization preference. CLV’s investment in our company will both help us successfully deliver our first pilot later this year and because CLV specializes in the circular economy, we think of it as smart capital that will help us make important connections to grow our business as well."

CLV invested alongside PRIME Coalition and Investors’ Circle.

A facility using two IcePoint units, is projected to divert 4,400 tons of food waste, decrease GHG emissions by 23,000 tons of CO2_eq, and save 14 billion gallons of water. This impact is realized while also increasing earnings by $275,000 per unit.

Closed Loop Ventures has made six investments since its inception including AMP Robotics (robotics company solving for recycling inefficiency), HomeBiogas (residential scale anaerobic digestion company solving for food waste) and Evrnu (a fiber technology company turning textile waste into new fibers). 

“Rebound Technologies directly addresses a huge driver of waste in the food supply chain – inefficiencies in the freezing process between the farm and the retailer," CLV Managing Director Rob Kaplan said in a statement.  "Based on our work with retailers and consumer product companies, we believe there is a strong demand for this technology.”