Our Story
- The Beginning of Cold Chain
Insulated and chilled train cars were developed in the late 1800s. These train cars relied on a consistent supply of ice and could only distribute to areas connected by rail. In 1939, the first mechanical cooling truck, powered by diesel fuel, was built to help distribute goods on the front of World War II. This innovation would define the future of the cold chain and provide infrastructure for its future growth.
- Ongoing Challenges
This growth has built the cold chains we are familiar with today that freeze food and store it safely until it’s consumed. The global food and pharma cold chain industries have grown to $250 billion annually. This has allowed the widespread adoption of frozen food in daily diets but, developing countries still struggle to implement an efficient cold chain system. Much of the produce harvested is lost due to a lack of a proper cold chain infrastructure.
- Capturing Waste Cold Energy to Expand Cold Chain
Cold chain today is largely powered by the same methods as developed in the 20th century. SuperFreeze’s ability to capture waste cold energy from LNG regasification promises a more efficient cold chain with greater reliability and lower carbon footprint. Better quality of service also expands the applications in the pharmaceutical industry further improving global health outcomes.
Humans have been freezing food in the arctic and in ice cellars for centuries, but the first implementation of the freezing process as we understand it was in 1927 by Clarence Birdseye. Since then, electrical freezing has increased the supply and variety of food available around the globe and contributed to longer lifespans and better health outcomes.
Our Vision
We are building a future where Asia’s cold chain system will provide accessible and reliable storage and transport for perishables, broadening consumers options, reducing waste and supporting economic development.
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We are a sustainable cold storage provider
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We have a unique decarbonization strategy
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We provide cryogenic temperatures at scale
A Brief History of Keeping Cold
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Past
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475-221 B.C.
The ancient Chinese stored food and ice in cellars meant to preserve food and ice during the hot summer months
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1918
First large-scale liquefaction of natural gas requires the injection of a massive amount of cold energy that is released during regasification
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1927
Clarence Birdseye develops the first fast-freezing method for storing food relying on electrical power
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1939
The first mechanically refrigerated diesel truck is invented
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1950’s
The first frozen meal hits store shelves in the United States
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Late 1960's
The frozen food market takes off in Asia and starts gaining popularity for home use.
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Present
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2019
Asia Pacific accounts for around 60% of the global population
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2019
COVID-19 dramatically increased the demand of frozen food in Asia-Pacific
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South Asia’s food waste accounts for nearly 70% of all waste produced
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In South and Southeast Asia, food waste is around 170 kg/year per capita with around 80% wasted before the food reaches store shelves
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Future
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2023
Frozen-ready meals are expected to offer a major jump in revenue in APAC. The APAC frozen foods market is projected to reach $83.46 billion by 2023
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2025
The region’s cold chain market is expected to reach a value of $254.90 billion
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2026
Pharma demand expected to continue to grow rapidly in Asia at more than 8.4% a year with more products requiring cold chain storage.
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2030
Residents in Asia are expected to spend more than $4.4 trillion on food products according to PWC, Rabobank, and Temasek report
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Our Solutions
SuperFreeze provides sustainable cold chain solutions to Asia’s food and pharmaceutical industries through a network of strategically located, large and modern facilities which generate cold energy using patented decarbonization technology.
The company is building the next generation of cold storage facilities and strives to transform Asia’s cold chain infrastructure. We offer a broad range of temperatures with high quality services. We are increasing our use of hydrogen fuel cells and on-site solar panels to produce distributed energy to complement our liquid natural gas cold waste technology to further reduce our carbon impact.
Recycle otherwise wasted cold energy from LNG Regasification
Power our ultra-cold facilities with a low carbon footprint
Reduce waste and increase availability and quality of food and pharma
Provide low-carbon cooling and maintain high quality storage
Our History
SuperFreeze was founded and continues to be operated by EMP Belstar, a global niche investment partnership focused on innovations with a meaningful impact on communities and their economies. EMP Belstar’s team has transitioned to become the full time management of SuperFreeze.
SuperFreeze was founded in 2014 with a mission to reshape Asia’s cold chain serving the food and pharmaceutical industries. Today, SuperFreeze is the leader in providing cold chain solutions that are sustainable, reliable and efficient. With Asia’s increasing demand for fresh products and the need to ensure safety and quality, the company is redefining cold storage.
SuperFreeze has extensive experience in preserving and managing temperature-sensitive products, including food, pharmaceuticals and vaccines. The company’s ultra-low temperature (- 72℃) storage facilities enable the preservation of delicate pharmaceutical products such as those developed with the new mRNA technology. To that end, over the last two years SuperFreeze stored and managed the supply of the majority of South Korea’s COVID-19 vaccines.
Pyeongtaek facility -72ºC
SuperFreeze is leading Asia’s transition to a sustainable cold chain, increasing availability of quality food and pharma, preventing waste and minimizing our carbon footprint.
SuperFreeze Milestones
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2011
Korean team assigned to study cold chain logistics in Korea
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2014
Pyeongtaek feasibility study
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2015
Patent #1 is granted for LNG waste energy
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2016
Patents #2 & #3 are granted for LNG waste energy
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2017
Pyeongtaek, first facility in South Korea, construction begins
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2020
Pyeongtaek opens focused on food storage
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2021
Incheon site awarded to SuperFreeze with a plan to build the world’s largest CS facility
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2021
2021 - The Korean government entrusts its entire COVID-19 vaccine inventory to SuperFreeze’s Pyeongtaek
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2021
Singapore development office opens
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2022
Songsan, second facility in South Korea, opens with a mixture of food/pharma clients
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2022
Incheon, the world’s largest cold chain facility construction begins
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The first SuperFreeze facility opened in 2020 in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. With its 159,292 m2 gross floor area built on 23 acres, it is the largest and most advanced cold storage facility in the country. It is well located to supply the 25 million people living in Seoul and neighboring areas from a strategically located, high-quality and environmentally responsible cold storage. The company’s second facility opened in mid-2022, with a third expected in early 2023 and construction of multiple additional facilities coming in 2023.
SuperFreeze’s landmark fourth facility will begin construction in late 2022 in Incheon New Port. The 338,179 m2 gross floor area on the 60-acre site will ultimately be the largest cold storage facility in the world, and service Korea’s growing pharmaceutical industry. Its strategic location will facilitate import/export and transshipment of goods from Korea to other Asian markets including China.
Operating from its strategic base in South Korea, SuperFreeze embarked on a mission to build an Asia-wide cold storage network on the back of its innovative decarbonization technology, strong customer relationships and growing reputation for quality services.
SuperFreeze’s management, operational and technical teams have a wealth of experience working across the world. The combination of innovative approach, global mindset and on-the-ground expertise has made SuperFreeze one of the fastest growing cold chain providers in Asia.
Sustainability
We are committed to sustainability, environmental consciousness, and responsibility toward the communities in which we operate. We take great pride in everything we do, every step of the way.
Our advanced, sustainable facilities contribute directly to 13 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.