March 23, 2017

Biocarbon product developer Cool Planet announced it has raised $19.3 million in a Series A led by Agustin Coppel and North Bridge Venture Partners.

Founded in 2009 in Colorado, Cool Planet began as a biofuel producer but is now developing and commercializing Cool Terra, an Engineered Biocarbon™ product that delivers a platform of solutions to the agricultural sector by improving soil health, efficiency, structure, and has the potential to increase agricultural yields by up to 14.9 percent through the retention of moisture and nutrients at the root zone. The addition of Cool Terra boosts microbial life in soil while also sequestering carbon from the atmosphere providing support for the agricultural, water, and energy sectors.

Through its proprietary method, the company uses a high-temperature, high-pressure process of ‘cooking’ non-food biomass and agricultural byproducts to the point where carbon gas is released, which is captured and condensed into biofuel, while the spent solid biomass is branded as Cool Terra.

“We’re fixing the historical issues with biochar and making it applicable to modern agriculture,” Cool Planet President and CEO Jim Loar told AgFunder. “Cool Terra creates a luxury condominium and habitat for water and nutrients to become available to the plant, helping to build up long-term soil health.”

After more than 70 independent field trials conducted throughout last year, Cool Terra has been proven to work across a variety of crops, nursery plants, and turf, as well as with a range of soil types. And as we progress into 2017, the company states that it has another 100 third-party field trials planned for this year.

“Our trials demonstrated that Cool Terra significantly improved yields for the fruit, vegetable, grass and legume crops, as well as turf and nursery plants,” said Loar. “We’ve done the research, proven the effectiveness and built the partnerships. Cool Terra is poised to make a significant impact in the ag and TN&O sectors.”

Additionally, the company produces Cool Fauna – a Biocarbon product that when added at low levels to animal feed rations has the potential to increase weight gain, bind toxins present in the feed, and reduce methane produced from enteric fermentation, according to the company site.

Repeat Commitment

This is the second round of funding for Cool Planet backed by Agustin Coppel and North Bridge Venture Partners within six months.

In September 2016 the two co-anchored a $9 million round of funding that itself was a follow-on to a previous $9 million round filed with the SEC on January 28 of last year.

“We are excited with our recent investments into Cool Planet, a company that has brought science to nature in a way that we are certain will revolutionize the agricultural industry, making soils healthy again as the basis of healthier crops, and consequently healthier people,” said Agustín Coppel at the time.

September of last year also saw the appointment of Jim Loar as company president and CEO of the company, as plummeting fuel prices prompted the Cool Planet to shift its focus away from biofuels and hydrocarbons to agtech.

Loar brought 28 years of experience in agribusiness to his position, having spent 14 years serving as vice president of operations for the $2.1 billion agricultural division of Wilbur-Ellis, and 14 years with crop protection company Griffin LLC.

This shift in direction by Cool Planet from biofuels to agtech has also prompted a realignment of funding series. Despite having raised $100 million in a Series D in April 2014 – the largest round raised by a biofuel company – which it used to help fund the construction of its first commercial plant in Louisiana, Cool Planet has dubbed this $19.3 million round as a Series A, since it will be fully concentrated toward its agtech development.

-Lynda Kiernan

Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.