Updated Apr 01, 2019
Alec Anderson
Koolmill is recognised as the 3rd generation (nextgen) cereal (rice) milling technology. Using a super-efficient coated abrasive and internationally patented milling chambers to replace stones, screens, augers, displacement plates and air systems. Koolmill is a flexible and scalable, low power (80% power saving) cold milling process. A simple concept: rice, driven by the abrasive, circul...
Rice is an antiquated and wasteful $550 billion (bn) global industry. Today, for 3.5bn people (6bn by 2050) rice is literally life. Rice production must increase by 70% (FAO) by 2050 to meet demand. Yet, each year 60 million (m) tonnes of rice is lost from farm to fork. Wasting water, resources and food: that's enough rice to feed 300m people (Asia), or 1.2bn (Africa), for a year. 180m tonnes of what's left is damaged, reducing its quality and value. The addressable annual global loss is $72bn.
The waste of resources - water, land, power, fuel, labour, and chemicals - is unsustainable. Koolmill, pioneers of a simpler and gentler technology, addresses this global problem by minimising lost and damaged rice during processing. 200m smallholders and >1.5m medium/small mills are excluded by cost, complexity and capacity from adopting the less wasteful current “best in class” milling machines. For the first time, millers of all sizes have equal access to identical, simpler technology.
Traditional 2nd-generation machines use high power motors to compensate for their inherent inefficiency. They are attritional, treating rice as a solid, and mechanically generate destructive pulsating milling pressures. They all do something to the rice, resulting in wasted power, heat, thermal stress, mechanical stress, lost and damaged rice (Food Loss). Koolmill is unique in that the rice is treated as a fluid. Milling chambers work with the rice to dynamically generate a gentle, consistent and controllable milling pressure. Koolmill eliminates augers, stones, screens and weighted displacement plates where much of the damage and loss occurs.
Koolmill USP’s: Low power (80% saving), low loss, low damage, low temperature milling. Simpler mills with less complex infrastructure and capital costs. Fully automatic optimised milling with access to real time data, remote monitoring and auto-tuning delivers more food and profitability from existing rice harvests.
Funding Goal | 750,000 | |
Projected Cumulative Lives Impacted | 350,000,000 | |
New Implemented Countries | Bangladesh, Philippines, Nigeria, Malaysia, Kenya, Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka | |
Recruit | 6 management, 4 non-exec directors, 4 engineers, 2 admin/PA | |
New Feature | Complete packaged scalable, digital milling solution with reliable storage and a new accessible pay as you mill business model, creating shared value for all stakeholders in a shortened and re-balanced value rice chain. |