Salvage Tesla packs are industrial infrastructure waiting to be claimed. ReChill is the first thing we build with them.
Cold Chain×Circular Battery
$2.5KEffective pack cost (internally consumed)
$10KRetail pack price (today's market)
3-5yrArbitrage window before it closes
$250KRound target friendly common equity
↓ 21 SLIDES · 19 SECTIONS · 1 ASK ↓
02 / 21
01 — Thesis
Industrial freezers are large because their motors are small.
Commercial blast freezers occupy hundreds of square feet because their compressor motors are sized for three-phase commercial power — not because their thermodynamics require it.
A used Tesla Model 3 traction motor delivers 75 kW continuous, 210 kW peak, with full variable speed and 96% efficiency. Costs $1,500-$3,000 from salvage.
Drive a CO₂ transcritical compressor with that motor and you have an industrial freezer's mechanical capability in a domestic refrigerator's footprint.
The Model 3 motor was engineered for 200,000-mile automotive duty cycles at temperatures and vibration loads far beyond what stationary refrigeration ever experiences. In freezer service at 10% load, it outlasts the facility.
→ The constraint is form factor, not physics.
03 / 21
02 — Market Baseline
What shrimp processors run today.
Reference systems with published or industry-typical performance. Energy intensity varies with load matching and refrigerant.
Air Blast Tunnel
Static batch, finfish-typical
Capacity5 MT/batch
Installed160 kW
Energy/MT~2,325 kWh
CapEx$250-400K
IQF Spiral Freezer
Ammonia, continuous belt
Capacity1-3 MT/hr
Installed220 kW
Energy/MT150-180 kWh
CapEx$600K-1.2M
IQF Tunnel (Optimar-class)
Wide belt, ammonia, shrimp-spec
Capacity14 MT / 23h
Installed~140 kW
Energy/MT90-100 kWh
CapEx$450-750K
ReChill C20
20ft container · M3 motor + CO₂
Capacity1.5-2 MT/hr
Installed85 kW
Energy/MT55-70 kWh
CapEx$180-280K
Why this works
The IQF tunnel reaches ~90 kWh/MT only at optimal load. Under-load it and efficiency drops 50%+. ReChill's variable-speed motor matches load in real time — operating at 55-70 kWh/MT across the real duty cycle, not just at nameplate.
04 / 21
03 — Reference Unit
The ReChill C20
Complete IQF shrimp freezing in a standard 20-foot ISO container. Ships anywhere. Drops on a pad. Connects to 480V at 100A. Operates.
Thermal Plant
75 kW
Tesla M3 IPMSynRM motor driving Bitzer CO₂ compressor
Continuous75 kW
Peak (blast)140 kW
RefrigerantCO₂ (R-744)
Floor temp−45°C
Efficiency96%
Process Chamber
12m belt
Folded-path tunnel, VFD-driven impingement fans
Belt width900 mm
Effective length12 m
Throughput1.5-2 MT/hr
Freeze time8-12 min
Air velocity4-7 m/s
Container
20ft ISO
High-cube; insulated panel; integral I/O ports
External6.1×2.4×2.9m
Internal33 m³
Insulation200mm PIR
Ship weight~9,500 kg
Install< 1 day
FIG. 03-B · INSTALL COMPARISON · PLAN VIEWSCALE 1:80 · SHEET 1 OF 1 · PROJ ⊕
SAME SCALE · SAME PRODUCT FLOW · SAME 1.5-2 MT/HR LINE · 17× SMALLER FOOTPRINT, 75% LOWER CAPEX
C20 — Section View
05 / 21
04 — Product Ladder
One core. Three scales.
Every ReChill uses the same drive system, refrigerant, control software, and serviceable parts. Customers scale by adding containers — not by replacing equipment.
Relative footprint, drawn to scale
PILOT
C10 · 10-foot
Platform:2× Chevy Bolt drive units + LG packs
500kg/hr
30kW thermal
$95-130K
Floor temp−50°C ·
50 kg blast3 min
Mobile, on-vessel, or remote site. The wedge product.
REFERENCE
C20 · 20-foot
Platform:2× Tesla Model 3 motors + LR packs
1.5-2MT/hr
75kW thermal
$180-280K
Floor temp−55°C (single) / −80°C (cascade) ·
200 kg blast6 min
Replaces a mid-size IQF spiral freezer. Where the volume sales live.
PRODUCTION
C40 · 40-foot
Platform:3× Tesla Model S drive units + S/X packs
3-5MT/hr
300kW thermal
$340-480K
Floor temp−90°C cascade, −120°C peak ·
1 MT blast5 min
Cryogenic regime. Enables true vitrification freezing for premium products that command 2-3× pricing.
FLEET
N × C40
Add containers to scale. Single failure ≠ plant outage. Linear capacity. Fleet-managed.
Platform-Agnostic
Any production EV donor works. Bolt motors at C10, Model 3 at C20, Model S/X at C40 reflect cost-per-kW sweet spots — not engineering dependencies. As supply shifts (more Hyundai/Kia salvage, more F-150 Lightning, more Rivian), the platform menu expands. The control software and refrigerant cycle stay constant.
Designed for 150%, Operated at 60-80%
Every load-bearing system — battery, motor, compressor pod — is sized for 150% of nameplate demand and run at 60-80% of capacity. Headroom is the architecture. Incumbents undersize and run hard because capex pressure forces them to; we oversize and run gentle because our inputs are cheap. Components engineered for automotive duty have a vacation in this application.
The Freezer Is the Easier Job
An M3 driving Phoenix summers with AC compressors running, regenerative braking, 200-mile range cycles, and shock loads from potholes is doing harder work in worse conditions than any freezer ever asks of these components. If it survives the car, it thrives in the freezer.Industrial refrigeration motors have never been crash-tested. Automotive ones have. Repeatedly.
Strategic angle
Traditional IQF is sized once, at install. ReChill plants grow with the business. Add a C20 in week one; add two more six months later; replace a failed unit overnight by swapping containers. Refrigeration becomes fleet-managed, not capital-projected.
06 / 21
05 — Over-Batteried On Purpose
Every unit ships with 10× the battery it needs.
A C20 freezer running at 75 kW continuous draws 75 kWh per hour. We provision it with a 5-pack cartridge — ~375 kWh on board. That's not inefficient. That's the architecture.
CUTAWAY SECT A-A · INDICATES 384 NCA CELLS, GLYCOL LOOP, AND TESLA-NATIVE BMS / CAN BUS
Cutaway of the top pack reveals 384 NCA cells, glycol thermal loop, and Tesla's native BMS bus — all already paid for by automotive engineering.
Why over-battery is the right answer
01
Charge cheap, discharge whenever
375 kWh of storage means you charge entirely during off-peak windows (10pm-6am at $0.08/kWh in CA) and run the freezer all day on that energy. Peak-hour utility rates ($0.42/kWh in CA summer) become irrelevant.
02
Grid-independent operation
5 hours of continuous freezing at nameplate load with the grid disconnected. PG&E PSPS shutoffs become non-events. Inland processors can deploy without industrial service upgrades.
03
Cells are batched, not stressed
A 75 kWh pack rated for 200 kW peak, running at 15 kW average load, will see 2,000+ usable cycles before measurable degradation. 8-10 year service life on cells designed for 200K-mile automotive duty.
04
Hot-swap = zero downtime
A failing pack is one of five. Cartridge isolates it, freezer keeps running on the other four. Service truck swaps the bad pack overnight. The freezer never stops.
05
Inventory IS the cartridge
Every C20 in service is also 375 kWh of conditioned, monitored, instrumented battery inventory on site. When a customer wants to buy a pack, you have one ready — and you know its exact state of health.
06
Self-mobile
Tracked base with two small EV motors moves the cartridge at 2-3 mph for positioning. Drives off the truck, into the plant, into position. No forklift, no crane, no operator training.
07
N+1 compressor pods, too
Same redundancy logic applied to the refrigeration side: 4-6 modular CO2 motor-compressor pods instead of one large compressor. Single pod failure ≠ system failure. Service truck swaps a pod in <2 hours. Every load-bearing system in this machine is hot-swappable.
The Diagnostic Loop
Every incoming pack does productive work while being tested.
1
Salvage pack arrives at processor's dock via chilled reefer backhaul. Temperature: 2-5°C — the safest possible state for lithium transport. Thermal runaway risk drops dramatically below 10°C. The reefer powered itself with the cargo.
2
Pack held in chilled bay at facility (5-10°C, existing refrigeration). Ready for testing on the operator's schedule. Zero conditioning energy spent — it arrived ready.
3
Pack plugged into diagnostic harness, discharged through a ReChill freezer's compressor load over 6-8 hours. The freezer cools shrimp. The pack reveals its state of health.
4
Cell-level SoH report generated: capacity, internal resistance, voltage balance, temperature distribution, predicted remaining cycles.
5
Pack is graded: A-grade goes to ReChill inventory, B-grade to wholesale ESS buyers, C-grade to second-life applications, D-grade to certified recycling.
The economic point
Every other battery testing operation pays for energy and gets nothing back. Ours uses the testing load to cool actual product for an actual customer. Diagnostics are free; the pack pays for its own qualification.
The architecture
Over-batterying isn't a bug we tolerate — it's the unlock. The cartridge is simultaneously a freezer power supply, a grid arbitrage asset, a self-mobile delivery vehicle, conditioned battery inventory, and a diagnostic substrate. Each function would be expensive alone. Bundled, they share infrastructure costs five ways.
07 / 21
06 — Refrigeration Becomes Programmable
Industrial freezers are dumb appliances. This one isn't.
Every industrial freezer in operation today has roughly four operator controls: setpoint, on/off, defrost timer, alarm. Variable-speed motors and modular pods unlock something different: real-time, per-zone, fully programmable thermal control.
ReChill OI · C20-2034 · Live
SHIFT 02 · 14:38:42 PST
SETPOINT · 85%−48°C TARGET
EFFICIENCY · 62.4 kWh/MT↓ 30.7% VS SPEC
PACK SoC · 73%5h 12m AT NAMEPLATE
ANOMALY · ZONE 3SUGGEST +15% DIAL
Industry Today
Fixed-speed, single-zone, blind
One setpoint, set at install
One zone, one airflow pattern
8-12 sensors total
Defrost on a timer, not on demand
Operator has no insight mid-batch
Product temp inferred from air temp
Service call required for any change
ReChill
Variable, multi-zone, observed
Setpoint dial 60-105% in real time
N pods = N independently-controlled zones
50-200 sensors per unit (see below)
Defrost triggered by frost detection
Live efficiency display mid-batch
Per-section temperature maps via thermal imaging
Operator adjusts on the fly without service
What this unlocks for the operator
◐
Spot-overcool / undercool
A section running 2°C warmer than spec? Dial that zone up 15%. The rest of the line stays at baseline. Currently impossible with single-compressor systems.
⇄
Throughput vs. efficiency trade
Line backed up? Run hot for 20 minutes. Line slow? Coast at peak efficiency. The operator owns the tradeoff in real time.
◷
Off-peak grid arbitrage
System suggests when to run hot (2-4am cheap power) and when to coast (4-7pm peak). Operator approves or overrides. Energy bill drops further.
◇
Product-aware curves
Operator selects shrimp size and density; system tunes the freeze curve. Switch products mid-shift, system adapts automatically.
◬
API to the plant MES
Sophisticated plants integrate ReChill telemetry into their existing systems. Build their own dashboards. Automate based on conveyor sensors.
◑
Fleet learning
Anomaly patterns from one plant teach the model what to look for elsewhere. Every customer benefits from every customer's data.
Phase 2 · Operational Intelligence
The sensor opportunity hiding inside the freezer.
Industrial refrigeration runs on shockingly old instrumentation. Same arbitrage logic that makes the batteries cheap makes modern automotive and consumer-grade sensors cheap. A C20 can carry 50-200 sensors at a total BOM under $2K vs incumbent systems with 8-12 sensors at $5-15K.
400+
Data channels already in the pack at zero cost
10×
Sensor count vs. incumbents at lower BOM
SaaS
Operational intelligence as separate revenue line
The pack already contains 400+ instrumented data channels — we just listen. Tesla's BMS broadcasts per-cell voltages (384 readings per M3 LR pack), thermal sensors, current shunts, contactor states, isolation resistance. The inverter broadcasts motor RPM, torque, IGBT temperatures, encoder position. All over CAN bus, well-documented by the Openinverter community. No additional sensors. No additional cost. Already paid for by Tesla's automotive engineering.
What you can do with this data the incumbents structurally can't: impedance spectroscopy on cells in-situ (inject AC signals through the inverter, measure response — detects damage and degradation), thermal mapping via voltage gradients (small temperature differences produce measurable cell-voltage differences), and vibration sensing via motor current ripple (mechanical vibration modulates current at high resolution). The hardware to do this is the same hardware that runs the freezer.
Certification path is well-understood. HACCP-critical measurements remain on plant-provided sensors; ReChill's dense array handles operational telemetry, predictive maintenance, and fleet learning. Phase 2 build, ~24 months out. The roadmap, not the prototype.
The deeper point
Incumbents can't easily add this even if they wanted to. Their architecture won't allow it. Fixed-speed compressors can't be dialed in real time. Single-zone systems can't be split into zones. Their PLC platforms can't ingest the data rates modern sensing produces. ReChill's architecture is the prerequisite for the interface. The interface is the prerequisite for the software business that compounds after the hardware arbitrage closes.
08 / 21
06 — Geographic Liberation
Shrimp plants exist where they have to.Not where they want to.
Processing facilities cluster in a handful of coastal towns because that's where landings, three-phase power, and skilled labor overlap. Remove the power constraint and the geographic logic dissolves.
Constraint architecture
What containerized + self-powered enables
⚓
On-vessel processing
A C10 in the hold lets a 60-foot shrimper IQF its catch at sea. Sale price doubles or triples at dock vs. fresh-on-ice.
🏝
Remote landings
Small fishing villages currently truck fresh shrimp hours to centralized processors. ReChill lands the processor at the dock.
🌱
Aquaculture sites
Shrimp farms in Belize, Honduras, Ecuador, rural India — places without industrial power. ReChill runs on solar + storage.
↻
Seasonal mobility
Follow the season. Containers roll in for the run, roll out at end. Processing fleet, not processing plant.
⚡
Disaster response
When a regional plant goes offline (storm, fire, regulatory shutdown), ReChill drops in within 72 hours. Industry resilience tool.
▲
New geographies
Domestic processing where it currently doesn't exist. Pacific Northwest oyster + dungeness operations. Maine lobster. Alaskan salmon overflow.
The bigger thesis
Current seafood processing is built around fixed infrastructure and variable supply. ReChill inverts it: fixed supply (the landing), variable processing (the containers). This isn't a better freezer — it's a different industry structure.
09 / 21
07 — Upstream Supply
The battery wholesale tier is its own business.
ReChill needs Model 3 packs as a critical input. Buying salvage cars at auction and parting them out is structurally cheaper than buying packs retail — and the byproducts have their own buyers.
Live market signal
Tesla Model 3 salvage inventory at Copart & IAAI is continuous. Front-end collisions (the most common loss type) frequently leave packs and rear drive units intact.
$5-15K
Salvage Vehicle at Auction
$6.5K floor
Used 75kWh Pack Resale
$13.5K ceiling
Tested + Warranty Pack Resale
$1.5-3K
Rear Drive Unit (motor + inverter)
Source data: Copart Model 3 salvage listings (continuous inventory, 2026). Aftermarket pack pricing per Electrics Auto (Charleston SC) and EVTV Motor Verks. OEM Tesla pack replacement quoted $13K-16K + $2-3K labor at service centers.
The Sandbag
Every number below assumes we pay $10,000 per vehicle — significantly above current Copart median pricing. This model still pencils with no sourcing optimization, no volume discounts, no auction relationships.
Full-vehicle economics at $10K cost
Salvage Model 3 LR purchase
Conservative ceiling price
−$10,000
Transport + auction fees
All-in landed cost
−$1,200
Pack tested, certified, resold
To DIY EV, ESS builders
+$9,500
Drive unit + inverter
To EV conversion shops
+$2,500
Body panels, screens, interior
Wholesale to parts buyers — see breakdown ↓
+$3,000
Drivetrain, susp., misc.
Scrap & parts
+$800
Margin per vehicle
+$4,600
Interior + Parts Breakdown
Tesla parts have high secondary-market demand because OEM prices are punishing. A salvage interior strips into roughly:
Front seats (pair, OEM 8-way power)$450-900
Rear bench seat assembly$300-500
15.4" main touchscreen (un-VIN-locked)$400-900
Door panels (set of 4)$400-600
Steering wheel + column$200-400
HVAC heat pump assembly$400-800
Glass roof + sunroof panels$300-600
Body panels (fender, bumper, hood)$500-1,200
Total interior + body realized$3,000-5,900
Channel: eBay Motors (high realized prices, 60% of value), Craigslist + local salvage networks (faster turnover, 30% of value), and direct-to-shop wholesale to Tesla independent service centers (recurring relationships, 10% of value). Source: live listings on eBay, Patterson Auto Wrecking, Benzeen, Ingenext, Donut Auto Parts (2024-2026).
The Real Picture
That margin is at the worst-case sourcing price. Actual auction medians run $5-8K. Volume sourcing relationships, off-auction wholesale channels, and insurance-direct buying programs push acquisition meaningfully lower. At 200 vehicles/year, even sandbagged numbers yield $900K+ in standalone battery margin.
Pack cost when consumed internally~$2,500-3,500vs. $6,500-13,500 retail
Selling the rest of the car offsets most of the acquisition cost. ReChill's effective pack price is structurally below what any non-vertically-integrated competitor can achieve. $4-10K BOM advantage per freezer. Permanent.
Scale economics
Y1
50 vehicles
$230K
Learning curve, single yard
Y2
200 vehicles
$920K
Volume sourcing, optimized teardown
Y3
500 vehicles
$2.3M+
Insurance partnerships, regional dominance
The Logistics Match
Empty reefer trailers run the same route in reverse.
Refrigerated trucks delivering processed shrimp from coast to inland markets run their return legs empty. Salvage yards holding Tesla packs sit along exactly those return corridors. The match is structural.
REVENUE LOAD · 25 packs · ~12,000 lb
25-30
M3 Packs per reefer
~$0
Marginal transport cost
$200K+
Pack inventory per trip
Bonus: Weight Distribution
Reefer trailers run light on the return — the refrigeration unit weight is constant, the cargo weight isn't. A backhaul of 12,000 lb of evenly-distributed pack cassettes improves trailer dynamics over an empty return, reducing trailer sway and tire wear. The processor benefits whether or not they buy packs from us.
01Processor's truck delivers product to West Coast distribution
↓
02Empty trailer routed to Bay Area or LA Copart yard on the way home
04Packs delivered to processor's dock — same loading bay, same crew, same equipment
Why this matters
Processors already have refrigerated logistics expertise, dock infrastructure, hazmat handling capability, and chilled storage. Salvage EV pack transport requires exactly these things. What looks like an unrelated business is actually a perfect cargo-flow inversion of their existing operation.
Why the Western Corridor is the right starting territory
Three Western states converge to make CA-NV-UT the optimal beachhead: the highest-density salvage EV market in the country, the largest battery manufacturing footprint in North America, and a regulatory environment that's already moving on EV stewardship.
Fig. 09 — Western CorridorCA · NV · UT — Inventory + Logistics
Tesla Gigafactory Nevada sits at the I-80 / I-15 cross. The same reefer trailers that move processed product run their return legs through every major Western salvage yard.
CA
The Supply
~750 Model 3s through Copart + IAAI monthly. Highest EV density in the country, highest salvage volume, most mature aftermarket. SB 615 successor will define national recycling standards from here.
NV
The Hub
Tesla Gigafactory at Sparks/Reno. Crossroads of I-80 and I-15. Tax-favorable for warehousing. Low industrial power rates ($0.06/kWh). Most logical operations center for a 3-state corridor business.
UT
The Frontier
Growing EV market, almost no aftermarket competition, business-friendly regulation, cheap industrial space. Optimal site for a satellite teardown facility serving the Mountain West.
The corridor advantage
One-day truck reach from a Reno hub to: LA salvage yards (8h), Bay Area (4h), Sacramento (3h), SLC (8h), Phoenix (12h). Combined with the Tesla Gigafactory's presence and Nevada's tax structure, Sparks/Reno is the natural ReChill operations center.
10 / 21
08 — Regulatory Posture
Position as a certified EV battery handler from day one.
California is actively building the regulatory framework for EV battery recovery. Early participants who can credibly handle, test, and certify packs will be positioned for state programs, producer responsibility credits, and downstream offtake agreements.
Where the policy is heading
SB 615 (Allen) was passed by the legislature in 2024, vetoed by Newsom on administrative grounds, and reintroduced in the 2025-2026 session with a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) framework. The bill establishes:
Certified Qualified Recycler
CalRecycle + DTSC
A jointly-administered certification for facilities that can demonstrate proper EV battery handling, testing, and reuse pathways.
Safety trainingRequired
ReportingRequired
SoH disclosureEncouraged
Reuse priorityMandated
CBEP Recycling Fee (Active Now)
Jan 2026
SB 1215 imposes a 1.5% recycling fee on battery-embedded products (capped $15). Funds will reimburse authorized recyclers.
EffectiveJan 1, 2026
AdministeredCalRecycle
ReimbursementTo recyclers
The on-site recycling center pitch
Shrimp processors operate at industrial sites with the space, power, and waste-handling infrastructure to host a small EV battery testing & decommissioning operation as a partner site. ReChill brings:
→
Testing & certification capability for incoming packs
→
Routes to second-life (ReChill freezers, ESS partners)
→
Future state credit eligibility under SB 615 successor legislation
Why first matters
The CalRecycle / DTSC certification process under SB 615's successor will almost certainly grandfather early participants. Operators who establish credentialed handling, testing, and reporting infrastructure in 2026-2027 will define what compliance looks like. Catching up later means competing for a credential we've already earned.
Important caveat: No state dollar credits exist today for EV battery recycling in CA. The regulatory framework is in formation. Treat this as forward positioning, not current revenue. The asset is the certified-handler status, not a check from Sacramento.
The Honest Pitch on Safety
Lithium battery fires happen. Storing salvage packs anywhere creates a non-zero risk. A shrimp processing plant is one of the best possible places to host that risk — and chilled transport is the safest way to get the packs there.
Chilled transport throughout — packs ride at 2-5°C, well below runaway threshold
Industrial fire suppression already on site
Concrete-walled processing buildings designed for hose-down operation
Hazmat handling protocols already in place for refrigerants and cleaning chemicals
Coastal/dock locations with rapid water access
Every other lithium logistics operation transports at ambient and stores at ambient. We transport cold and store cold — by accident of what the business already is. The same characteristics that make the facility right for cold-chain logistics make it the right partner for battery logistics. This is not a coincidence — it's why this is the right partnership.
We Even Thought of This · Insurance
The paper tiger nobody wants to acknowledge.
Industrial insurers will price salvage lithium as "novel risk" because they have to. That's their job. The paper says these batteries are dangerous.
Then the underwriter drives home from work in a Model 3.
Every objection to operating a salvage pack in a controlled industrial setting applies more strongly to operating one under a person's seat at 70 mph next to a 15-gallon gas tank in the car next to them. The risk we're being asked to insure against is structurally lower than the risk every commuter accepts daily.
Our actual posture
Master Vendor Liability policy — $1-2M coverage, $10-25K/year early-stage premium. Standard for industrial OEMs.
Vendor-managed equipment option for risk-averse processors — ReChill carries the risk, not the customer.
Documented safety stack — chilled-throughout supply chain + N+1 redundancy + automotive-grade duty cycle data + cold operating environment. This is the most safety-documented refrigeration design in the industry.
It's still a real workstream — $10-20K and 3-6 months in Year 1. But it's a paper tiger that gets neutralized with paperwork, not a structural barrier.
11 / 21
09 — Business Architecture
Three revenue lines. One operation.
Every salvage Model 3 that comes through the facility generates revenue three different ways. The pack goes into a freezer, into a wholesale buyer's hands, or into the recycling stream — whichever has the best margin that week.
Line 01 — Hardware
ReChill Freezer Sales
C20 units sold to shrimp & seafood processors. $180-280K per unit. Service contracts add 8-12% annually. Customers scale by buying additional containers.
Year-3 target: 25 units installed · $5-7M revenue
Line 02 — Components
M3 Pack & Drive Wholesale
Tested & certified Tesla M3 packs sold to DIY EV builders, ESS integrators, and aftermarket pack distributors. Drive units to EV conversion shops. Parts to body shops.
Certified pack handling, testing, decommissioning. Reverse-logistics integration uses processor's existing reefer fleet to move salvage packs on otherwise-empty return legs. Pre-positioning for state credits under SB 615 successor legislation.
Year-3 target: Certified handler status · Backhaul revenue offsetting logistics
The integration
Each line strengthens the others. The freezer business creates demand for tested packs. The wholesale business funds the inventory we'd otherwise need for freezer production. The recycling status protects the supply chain as regulation arrives.
12 / 21
10 — Component Availability
Why this is buildable in 2026.
Motor supply
Salvage M3 drive units abundant. Open-source controllers (openinverter ecosystem) give production-grade CAN-bus control without OEM dependence.
CO₂ refrigeration
CO₂ transcritical is now standard in European supermarket refrigeration (Bitzer, Dorin, Frascold). Non-toxic, non-flammable, near-zero GWP. Forward-compatible under AIM Act HFC phase-down.
Container conversion
ISO container modification is commodity in every port city. Insulated reefer panels, food-grade finishes, standardized I/O ports — all off-the-shelf.
Market pull
Processors face energy prices that doubled in five years. Electricity is the largest non-product line on a processor's P&L. A 40% reduction is existential, not nice-to-have.
Capital posture
Processors want $200K modules in 8 weeks, not $1M projects in 18 months. Container form matches buyer behavior.
13 / 21
11 — Buildable Tomorrow
What gets built. In what order.
01 — 90 Days
C10 Bench Prototype
25-30 kW thermal plant. Single salvaged M3 motor. Off-shelf CO₂ compressor. Validates motor control, freeze time on shrimp samples.
Budget$45-60K
GateThesis valid?
02 — 6 Months
C10 Field Prototype
Containerized version at a partner shrimp plant. Real production load, measured kWh/MT against their existing baseline.
Budget$95-130K
AssetCustomer data
03 — 9 Months
C20 First Production
Full reference design. Sold or leased to partner customer. Documented BOM, QA protocols, service procedures. First 5 vehicles parted out for components.
Budget$180-220K
Revenue$250K + $30K parts
04 — 18 Months
Production Run × 10 + Cert.
Manufacturing partner. Component stockpiling. First seven customers signed before build complete. Apply for CalRecycle Certified Recycler status.
Budget$1.6-2.2M
Revenue$2.4-2.8M
05 — 24 Months
C40 Engineering Validation
Cascade dual-motor configuration. Fault-tolerant operation. Targets large processors >3 MT/hr. Wholesale battery business at 200+ vehicles/year.
Budget$280-340K
Run-rate$6-8M
The minimum viable test
$180K and 90 days gets a working bench prototype processing actual shrimp at a partner's facility. Measured against their existing baseline. The thesis is right or wrong by month three. Every dollar after that is scaling a validated product, not searching for one.
14 / 21
12 — The Ask
The window is small. The price is small.
Most people see used Tesla packs as DIY scrap. A handful of us see them as the cheapest industrial infrastructure ever built. We have maybe 3-5 years before someone large notices.
$250K, common equity, friendly round. Priced low on purpose. The point isn't to raise a lot of money — it's to start fast while packs are still mispriced.
The Round
Target raise
$250K
Instrument
Common equity
Round size
Friendly · capped
Pre-money
Friendly. TBD with lawyer.
Build timeline · packs in hand
Assuming we close in 4-6 weeks and have 2-5 tested packs on the bench, here's what the prototype actually looks like to build:
W1-2
Components arrive. Bitzer CO2 compressor (~$3-4K, 10-14 day lead), brazed plate heat exchangers ($1.5-2K), Openinverter motor controller ($600-1.5K), refrigerant lines, sensors, contactors. Test chamber is a gutted chest freezer or small walk-in.
W3-4
Mechanical assembly. Mount motor + compressor. Plumb refrigerant lines, pressure-test, evacuate, charge with CO2. Wire HV pack interface with precharge and contactors. Wire LV control.
W5-6
First runs. Cold-start system. Validate pressure curves. Tune motor speed against thermal demand. First freezing test (water bottles, then shrimp samples).
W7-10
Instrumentation + iteration. Real logging. Tune control loops. Extended duty cycles. Document energy per kg frozen. Compare against a known commercial baseline.
W11-13
Validation report. Clean data set. Performance vs. baseline. Cost-per-MT analysis. Photos, video, ideally a third-party witness from a real processor.
90 days
Total parts cost: ~$15K. Bottleneck is compressor lead time and CO2 supplier coordination. Both manageable.
If the data validates
R1 investors get pro-rata participation rights on the next round. We have multiple paths forward: bootstrap on revenue, strategic capital from a refrigeration incumbent, traditional Series A, or strategic partners with European/Asia-Pacific operating presence. The point of R1 is the prototype data. The point of the prototype data is having real options at R2.
Why R2 matters: the European upside
Industrial energy prices in Europe run 2-4× US prices. Regulatory pressure on industrial emissions is structurally higher (CBAM, EU ETS, country-level carbon taxes). Spain is the largest seafood processor in Europe; Norway, Iceland, UK, Denmark are major players. The same C20 unit that saves $30K/year in the US saves €90-120K/year in Germany.
2-4×EU energy prices vs US
50%Larger industrial refrigeration TAM
2027EU battery passport law (helps us)
EU expansion is visible upside, not committed roadmap. R2 captures it via the path with the best terms. R1 investors who exercise pro-rata get the multiplied returns either way.
If the data doesn't validate
Round closes. Remaining funds return at cost. We learned cheaply and fast that the thesis didn't hold at this scale. The downside is bounded; the upside is asymmetric.
The signal we're betting on
Pack prices going up = thesis correct, but our entry price was right. Pack prices staying flat = we have time to scale. Pack prices dropping = even better margins. There is no scenario in the next 3 years where the supply side gets worse for us.
15 / 21
13 — The Bigger Picture
ReChill is the first.
Same architectural insight — automotive-grade components repurposed for industrial use, salvage supply chains, over-batteried thermal systems — supports a portfolio of four distinct businesses. Each can be spun out and operated independently as it matures. Family and trusted operators run what works.
01
ReChill
Industrial freezing
FUNDING NOW
02
Mobile Cooling
Battery-electric spot cooling rental
YEAR 1-2 · SPIN-OUT
03
Spa Lines
Mobile spa / wellness
PROTOTYPING
04
Restaurant Box
Vitrified cuisine appliance
YEAR 2-3
05
Home Thermal
Whole-house cascade refrigeration
YEAR 3+
Why this matters for your investment
Capital into ReChill specifically funds the first build. But the shared infrastructure — salvage relationships, CalRecycle certification, motor-control IP, over-batteried platform — is reusable across all the ventures. Each future business launches with the upstream supply problem already solved.
When a future venture spins out, friends-round investors get pro-rata participation rights on the spinout's first round. Detailed mechanics in the term sheet, but the principle: early supporters back the operating chassis, not just the first product.
The operator angle
Multiple ventures means multiple operator seats. ReChill itself is mine to run. The Spa, Restaurant Box, Mobile Cooling, and Home Thermal businesses can be operated by family or trusted partners as each one matures. This isn't a one-business pitch — it's a venture studio thesis backed by working infrastructure.
16 / 21
14 — Future Business 01
Mobile Cooling.
Same C10 chassis, different endpoint: air handling instead of food freezing. Battery-electric spot cooling for offices, construction sites, film shoots, outdoor events — markets currently served by noisy, expensive diesel-powered units.
$800-2.5K
Current day-rate (diesel)
$0
Fuel cost (electric)
10-20
Unit fleet per metro
Why this works
○
Silent operation — no generator. Works on film sets where diesel is forbidden. Works in office buildings overnight. Works at outdoor weddings without ruining the audio.
▲
No exhaust — runs indoors without a vent flue. Atlas Copco and MovinCool can't compete inside an active office space; we can.
◇
Plug-in overnight recharge — depot-based fleet model. One operator handles dispatch and rotation. App-based booking. Customers see only "cooling unit shows up, works for 12 hours, leaves."
⊞
Same supply chain as ReChill — packs, motor, compressor, controls. Shared service inventory. Marginal cost per additional unit is dramatically lower than a standalone business would face.
Spin-out timing
Mobile Cooling can spin out as early as Month 12. The unit hardware is essentially a C10 with different endpoint engineering — proving ReChill's C10 architecture also proves Mobile Cooling's. Family operator runs the rental fleet; ReChill earns a licensing fee on the platform.
The market reality
Mobile spot cooling is a billion-dollar US market served by aging diesel equipment that customers actively hate. The whole rental industry is overdue for an electric incumbent. We don't even need to invent new technology — just package the C10 differently and ship it to a different customer.
17 / 21
15 — Future Business 02
Spa Lines.
Mobile spa / hydrotherapy / wellness products built on the same battery-powered architecture. Salvaged Tesla packs provide energy density that no battery-electric mobile spa currently achieves. The market is real, mostly served by towed gas-generator products, and ready for an electric-first incumbent.
375kWh
Stored energy (same 5-pack cartridge)
8-12hrs
Spa operation per charge
$8-25K
Target unit price (varies by tier)
What ReChill's infrastructure unlocks here
○
Ozone nanobubble water treatment — chemical-free sanitization. Current spas use chlorine/bromine, which is gross. Nano-ozone produces drinkable-quality water continuously with no residue.
▲
Oxygen nanobubble therapy — skin-permeable oxygenated water creates a genuinely novel wellness category. Could be premium product positioning at high-end resorts.
◇
Precision temperature control — battery-powered heat pumps can take a soaking tub from 38°C to 4°C in under 15 minutes, enabling contrast-therapy regimens that fixed-temperature spas can't.
⊞
Folding hex form factor — staved redwood inner + CLT outer panels fold to one-sixth size for transport. Polyester ratchet strapping for hoop tension (cheaper and more forgiving than steel banding).
◊
Stratified thermal storage — hot and cold reservoirs share a heat pump loop. The energy to heat the spa comes from cooling the cold plunge, and vice versa. Both functions free if either is happening.
Soak
$8-12K
Single hot tub, basic ozone treatment, residential
Range
$15-18K
Hot + cold plunge, full nanobubble treatment, contrast therapy
Service
$22-25K
Multi-station mobile, event/resort rental, full thermal range
Why it works
The wellness market is large, premium-priced, and demonstrably willing to pay for "advanced" features. Nanobubble + battery-powered + precision-temperature is a credible "next-generation spa" pitch that current incumbents (Jacuzzi, Bullfrog, Hot Spring) can't easily match. The ReChill supply chain delivers the batteries at half the cost of any other entrant.
18 / 21
16 — Future Business 03
Restaurant Box.
A countertop appliance that takes vitrified ingredient cassettes (shipped overnight from a central commissary) and produces restaurant-quality dishes at home in 3-5 minutes. The technology to do this doesn't currently exist commercially — the combination of vitrified ingredients + integrated cooking robotics + high-power induction is novel.
The thing it does that nothing else does
1
Vitrified ingredient arrives frozen at -80°C. Cell structure perfectly preserved. Cassette format with QR-tagged recipe profile.
2
Robotic temper brings the product to optimal cooking entry temperature in 90 seconds using controlled IR + cool airflow.
3
High-current induction sear at 1100°C for 4-6 seconds — Maillard chemistry without overcooking the interior.
4
Partial vacuum rest (0.5 atm for 20 seconds) pulls sear aromatics into the surface; protein structure stays at temperature target.
5
Plate-finish with robotic sauce dispense, garnish placement, foam injection if recipe requires.
Reference dish: Mikuni-style BBQ Tuna
Cold center, charred surface, sub-4-minute home preparation. Currently impossible without restaurant equipment and trained line cooks. Restaurant Box makes it a tap-to-cook experience.
The business model
Appliance
$3-5K
One-time hardware purchase
Cassettes
$15-40
Per dish, subscription or à la carte
Margin
60-75%
Software-business unit economics
Why ReChill enables this
Vitrification at scale requires cryogenic refrigeration capability. ReChill's C40 platform is exactly the commissary kitchen for the Restaurant Box ingredient stream. One technology stack, two customer-facing products. Vitrified seafood goes to processors; vitrified prepared portions go to homes.
19 / 21
17 — Future Business 04
Home Thermal Services.
The "central plant + distributed evaporators" model applied to residential. One high-capacity cascade heat pump in the utility room serves multiple cold endpoints (fridge, freezer, blast chiller, wine cellar, ice maker) plus heat endpoints (hot water, radiant floor, sous-vide bath). Energy moves between zones; only net thermal imbalance is purchased.
Why this is distinct from ReChill's CO2-only architecture: Home applications benefit from multi-stage cascade (−80°C floor) because the cool capabilities (vitrification, cryo-milling, sub-zero fermentation) justify the complexity. Industrial seafood needs −50°C; home enthusiasts want the full range. Different products, different refrigerant strategies.
What it replaces
Standalone fridge
→
Insulated cabinet + evaporator
Standalone freezer
→
Insulated cabinet + colder evaporator
Hot water heater (50 gal)
→
Inline heat exchanger from reject heat
Wine cellar
→
Precision-temp zone, ±0.1°C
Ice maker
→
Multi-format ice on demand
[Nothing today]
→
Residential blast chiller / vitrification cell
Customer journey
Year 1: install central plant during major renovation or new construction, connect first 2-3 endpoints. Year 2-5: add endpoints as appliances die. Year 5+: fully integrated thermal infrastructure, dramatically lower whole-house energy costs, capabilities no neighbor has.
Estimated unit economics
Central plant install (full build)$25-40K
Per-endpoint addition$2-8K
Annual whole-house energy savings vs. conventional40-60%
Service / annual maintenance subscription$600-1200/yr
Why this is the latest, not the first
Home thermal services requires a base of luxury-tier customers willing to commit to whole-house infrastructure. Building that brand is a 3-5 year exercise. ReChill's revenue and reputation funds the brand development. Spa Lines and Restaurant Box generate the cultural permission. By Year 4-5, the home version is a logical extension, not a cold-start.
20 / 21
18 — IP Posture
What we file before any pitch.
Provisional patent applications establish priority date and signal seriousness to all subsequent investors. $150 USPTO filing fee per provisional; ~$2-3K total with attorney review. We file within 30 days of round close.
01
Diagnostic-as-Cooling-Load
A system for characterizing electrochemical energy storage devices wherein the discharge load is a refrigeration compressor performing productive cooling work. Method patent.
02
Over-Batteried Hot-Swap Architecture
A refrigeration system comprising N parallel battery packs with isolation contactors enabling live pack replacement during continued operation. Utility patent.
03
Self-Mobile Battery Cartridge
Tracked or wheeled multi-pack assembly with autonomous positioning, designed for industrial energy infrastructure deployment. Utility + design patents.
04
Cargo-Powered Reefer Transport
Refrigerated transport wherein the cargo (rechargeable energy storage devices) provides power to the transport's refrigeration unit, eliminating fuel consumption during transit.
05
Salvage-to-Freezer Manufacturing Process
End-to-end method of EV teardown, battery testing, and integration into containerized refrigeration systems. Process patent.
Standard disclaimer: Patentability is a USPTO determination, not a founder claim. Provisional filings establish priority date but don't guarantee grant. Full utility filings (~$10-15K each) follow at 12-month conversion. Attorney engagement is line-item in the use-of-funds.
21 / 21
19 — Personal
What this actually is.
I'm not pitching you because I need an investor. I'm pitching you because the window is open right now, and the people I trust enough to move fast with are you.
Used Model 3 packs are mispriced as industrial infrastructure. Most people see them as scrap or DIY EV parts. A handful of us see them as the cheapest source of automotive-grade thermal-and-electrical infrastructure ever built. That mispricing closes the moment someone large enough notices. Three years, maybe five.
I want to be moving when it closes, not catching up.
What the money is honestly for
Bench prototype + IP
$100K
Real spend. The thing that proves it.
Inventory: 8-10 salvage vehicles
$75K
Packs go into prototype + freezer build + resale pipeline.
Tom quits his job money
$60K
Six months focused. I'd rather be honest about this than hide it in "operations."
Legal, formation, contingency
$15K
Real but boring.
Round target
$250K
Common equity. Lawyer-papered. Real stake.
Why you specifically
→
You'll tell me when I'm wrong in ways arm's-length investors won't. That's worth more than the capital.
→
You've known me long enough to evaluate the founder, not just the deck.
→
I have dozens of these ideas. Packs are cheap now. There's enough to go around. Getting in early on the supply side is the whole game.
→
If this becomes a big company, the upside is significant. If it doesn't, you've still helped me build the operating chassis that future ideas plug into.
The version of success I'm playing for
This becomes the company the right operator leaves their current job to help run. The spinoffs become operating businesses that trusted partners and family can get behind.
Lucrative without being extractive. Built to outlast the founders.
I'm not trying to catch a unicorn. I'm trying to catch a wave that lifts the people in this room and their kids. That's the version of ambitious that fits me.
Couple of honest notes
On giving the ideas away: Yes, this deck describes more than one business. I'm not precious about it. The ideas aren't the moat — the supply chain, the operating relationships, and the speed of execution are. Anyone who reads this and copies it has to build what I'm already building.
On the tooling: I built this deck with AI assistance (Claude, specifically). It's how I work now. The thinking is mine; the writing speed is leveraged. You should know that because I want you to know how I'd run the company too — with whatever tools make me faster, transparent about it.
On the gate: If the bench prototype fails the 90-day energy-consumption test against a real processor's baseline, the round closes and remaining funds return at cost. The decision to push past that gate is one we make together.
Read the deck. Talk to each other. No clock from me.
— Tom
Ask the deck
Questions ReChill didn't cover?
An AI assistant with access to a fixed corpus about ReChill Systems. It answers in TSL8 format — restated question, what it knows, and what to defer to Tom on. Transparently AI, not a substitute for Tom.
Verify anything material with Tom directly
CHAT IS PASSWORD-GATED
Tom shares the password with people he wants to give chat access to. If you don't have it, ask him — or just read the deck.
Ready when you are
Ask about the unit economics, the BMS angle, the Western corridor, the patent posture, the spin-out logic — anything in the deck.