Largest investment to date
Purpose Capital Impact Fund has made a $3m investment into Cool Group Ltd. Cool Group is a New Zealand-owned and operated company whose subsidiaries include: CoolSense NZ Ltd, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of commercial and industrial chilling systems; CoolCARE NZ Ltd, subscription-based remote data support service; and PAUS Rental Ltd, a freshly launched leasing model in partnership with Fonterra and New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF).
Better for the planet refrigerants
Cool Group’s chilling system use refrigerants with significantly lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) than existing systems (466 GWP vs up to 3,920 GWP). They also use much less refrigerant (7kg vs an average of 30kgs).
In combination, the company estimates that replacing one legacy system with a CoolSense system instantly removes an average of 90 Tonnes net CO2 equivalent from the average farm. Refrigerants removed from farms are safely destroyed and the scrap metals from the legacy machines are recycled. These changes are an important step in NZ’s commitment to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) over the coming years, in line with international obligations under the Kigali Amendment.*
Less leakage
Traditional systems also leak at an estimated 15% per annum** while leakage of the CoolSense systems is estimated to be negligible due to the nature of the design. CoolSense systems are remotely monitored in real-time, meaning that any leakage or issues can be detected and addressed promptly. This has the added benefits of saving money and reducing the potential for spoilage.
The HFC refrigerants from the legacy equipment will be destroyed by Cool-Safe, New Zealand’s product stewardship scheme for handling the very high global warming potential gases being recovered from the refrigeration systems. Cool-Safe’s involvement ensures HFC’s are appropriately collected and destroyed using state of the art technology, eliminating the harm these synthetic refrigerants cause to the environment.
Improved energy efficiency
CoolSense products reduce energy consumption by approximately 30% compared with current products, saving the farm money and further reducing greenhouse gas emissions (depending on energy source). They also produce hot water as a by-product – a handy benefit for cleaning the milking shed. In addition, the chilling capabilities of the units means milk is snap chilled – benefiting milk processors by enabling higher value goods to be manufactured for global markets.
Purpose Capital Impact Fund, New Zealand’s largest private sector impact investment fund, invests into solutions that create measurable, positive environmental and social outcomes, alongside financial returns. Bill Murphy, Purpose Capital’s Executive Director, noted “We have for some time been looking for a refrigeration investment since refrigerants are a substantial contributor to climate change. One kilogram of these refrigerants can be equivalent to thousands of kilograms of CO2. We hope our investment will lead to a major decrease in refrigeration related dairy farm emissions in New Zealand.”
The fund targets growth stage companies, and this investment enables Cool Group to execute plans to make its cutting-edge milk chilling systems assessable to more dairy farmers.
Partnerships
As part of the deal, Cool Group is partnering with Fonterra and New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) to offer their systems to Fonterra farmers through an innovative leasing model called PAUS (Pay-As-You-Save). NZGIF is providing the lease financing, with lease payments deducted from the farmers’ monthly milk cheque from Fonterra.
These partnerships are important in scaling the uptake of these systems by making them more accessible to farmers.
To learn more about the impact refrigerants have on climate, read about the importance of Alternative Refrigerants here and Refrigerant Management here.
References:
* Hydrofluorocarbon Consumption in New Zealand; prepared for the Government of New Zealand, Ministry for the Environment October 2017. Link: https://environment.govt.nz/assets/Publications/Files/hfc-consumption-in-nz.pdf
** https://www.epa.govt.nz/industry-areas/hazardous-substances/hfcs/why-rules-have-changed/
Purpose Capital are Impact Investors who drive positive environmental and social change in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and greater New Zealand. New Zealand’s largest private impact investment fund, Purpose Capital is founded on the principle that we can effect change through well-run commercial investments that deliver impact as well as financial return.
Through demonstrating the effectiveness of our approach, Purpose Capital aims to increase impact investments from asset and fund managers as well as private and philanthropic wealth. By leading investment opportunities, we provide confidence to other investors to invest alongside us in impactful companies and projects.