Coldblock
ColdBlock Technologies Inc. is a privately held Canadian company that makes patented short-wave infrared sample digestion systems (Pro Series CBS, CBM, CBL) for elemental analysis laboratories in mining, battery recycling, food, agriculture, environmental, and academic research markets, sold direct and via exclusive international distributors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersNiagara Falls, Canada
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Coldblock does
ColdBlock Technologies Inc. is a privately held Canadian laboratory equipment company headquartered in Niagara Falls, Ontario, founded on technology co-developed with Brock University between 2012 and 2014. The company designs, manufactures, and sells sample digestion systems for elemental analysis using a patented combination of focused short-wave infrared heating and a unique cooling zone — the only architecture of its kind on the market. Its product portfolio consists of the Pro Series line of scalable digesters (CBS for samples up to 1g, CBM up to 5g, CBL up to 30g) and the legacy Standard Series (CB15, CB12, CB15S), complemented by a library of named application methods including the Strong Acid Digestion Method, Black Mass Digestion Methods, Food Testing methods, and a Soil Analysis method validated against EPA Method 3050B.
The company serves geochemical, assaying, and metallurgical laboratories in the mining and metals industry (gold, copper, lithium, rare earths, uranium, base and polymetallic operations), major global testing, inspection and certification firms (SGS, Bureau Veritas), and adjacent verticals including food and agriculture, environmental testing, academic and nuclear research, and the emerging lithium-ion battery recycling (black mass) segment. ColdBlock operates a hybrid go-to-market: direct enterprise sales from its Canadian headquarters paired with exclusive in-country distribution partnerships in Japan (Marukom LLC), Singapore and Malaysia (Asia MatteLab Pte Ltd.), Peru (Minas y Concentradoras S.A.), and South Africa (Rapid Scientific (Pty) Ltd.). Revenue is generated primarily through hardware unit sales, recurring consumables (HF-compatible liners, replacement infrared lamps with 4,000-hour life), and R&D lab services including customer-specific method development via its sample submission program. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.
Coldblock firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Coldblock
- Legal name
- ColdBlock Technologies Inc.
- Website
- https://coldblock.ca
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- ColdBlock Technologies Inc. is a privately held Canadian company that makes patented short-wave infrared sample digestion systems (Pro Series CBS, CBM, CBL) for elemental analysis laboratories in mining, battery recycling, food, agriculture, environmental, and academic research markets, sold direct and via exclusive international distributors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Coldblock industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Laboratory Sample Preparation Equipment
- NAICS
- Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)
- SIC
- Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens) (HLAGAIAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Sample Preparation, Storage & Cryogenics (Freezers, Cryovials, Cryostats) (HLAGAIAJ), Medical & Clinical Specimen Frozen Storage (Labs, Biobanks) (TLALACAE)
Keywords
Where Coldblock is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Niagara Falls
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Coldblock business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Hardware Sales of Digestion Units: Sells physical ColdBlock Pro Series and Standard Series sample digester units (CBS, CBM, CBL, CB15, CB12) to laboratories. Includes in-house technical support and lab services for method transition.
- Consumables and Accessories: Sales of consumables including HF-compatible liners, replacement infrared lamps (5-minute replacement procedure), and other accessories. Distributor portal indicates ongoing consumable relationship post-sale.
- R&D Lab Services and Sample Testing: ColdBlock R&D Lab offers custom method development and sample testing services for prospective customers (e.g., optimizing a digestion method for a customer's specific sample type via the sample submission form).
- Distributor Channel Sales: Revenue is generated through exclusive distribution partnerships where local partners (Marukom LLC in Japan, Asia MatteLab Pte Ltd. in Singapore/Malaysia, Minas y Concentradoras S.A. in Peru, Rapid Scientific in South Africa) sell ColdBlock units and services in their territories.
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Coldblock product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ColdBlock Technologies Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells patented sample digestion instruments (Pro Series CBS, CBM, CBL and Standard Series CB15/CB12) that use focused short-wave infrared heating combined with a unique cooling zone to rapidly dissolve solid samples into solution for multi-element analysis. The hardware is paired with a portfolio of named application methods (Strong Acid Digestion, Black Mass Digestion, Food Testing, and Soil Analysis) and supported by an in-house R&D lab offering custom method development and sample testing services to mining, environmental, food, agricultural, academic, and battery-recycling laboratories worldwide.
Product overview
ColdBlock Technologies Inc. delivers a unified sample digestion technology platform anchored by its patented combination of focused short-wave infrared heating and a unique cooling zone, sold as the ColdBlock Pro Series — three scalable digester models (CBS for small samples up to 1g, CBM for medium samples up to 5g, and CBL for large samples up to 30g) plus a legacy Standard Series (CB15, CB12, CB15S). The hardware is paired with a portfolio of named application methods — including the Strong Acid Digestion Method, Black Mass Digestion Methods (Near-Total and Leach), Food Testing Digestion Methods, and the Soil Analysis Digestion Method — that together cover mining/metals, lithium/pegmatite, battery recycling (black mass), food and agriculture, and environmental sample types. The product is supported by ColdBlock's R&D Lab Services and Sample Submission offering, which develops and validates customer-specific digestion methods and serves as the hub for the company's application-notes library spanning copper, zinc, lead, nickel-cobalt, spodumene, pegmatite, gold, black mass, soil, sediment, sludge, sewage sludge, agricultural, and food CRMs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ColdBlock Pro Series: Line of scalable sample digestion equipment launched October 2022, available in three sizes: CBS (small, 20 samples up to 1g), CBM (medium, 16 samples up to 5g), and CBL (large, 12 samples up to 30g). Supports up to 4 digesters connected to a single controller.
- ColdBlock Standard Series
Quantifiable outcome
- 10-30% cost reduction vs hot block and microwave methods
- +9 more outcomes
Companies that use Coldblock
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Coldblock technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Coldblock partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Asia MatteLab Pte Ltd.flagshipExclusive distribution partnership for ColdBlock sample digestion technology in Singapore and Malaysia. Announced June 12, 2026.
- Minas y Concentradoras S.A.flagshipExclusive distribution partnership for ColdBlock in Peru. Announced April 21, 2026. Strengthens ColdBlock's presence in the Latin American mining market.
- Marukom LLCflagshipExclusive distribution partnership to distribute ColdBlock's sample digestion technology in Japan. The collaboration aims to expand ColdBlock's presence in Japan's scientific laboratory market, enhancing efficiency and sustainability. Announced October 22, 2025.
- Bureau VeritasflagshipStrategic commercial lab partnership following successful test program in Bureau Veritas' Santiago Chile laboratory. Bureau Veritas converted standard hot block digestion methods to ColdBlock methods and deployed units across its Chilean lab network and customer mine site labs. Offers customers faster assay results with same accuracy as current processes. Announced October 3, 2023.
- Brock UniversityflagshipColdBlock's foundational technology was developed in partnership with Brock University over 2012-2014. This collaboration produced the patented focused short-wave infrared heating + cooling zone digestion system that underlies all current ColdBlock products.
- Rapid Scientific (Pty) Ltd.coreStephen Varty, Managing Director of Rapid Scientific (Pty) Ltd., serves as ColdBlock's partner in South Africa and the African continent. Supplies sample digestion solutions to laboratories across Africa. Relationship publicly featured as a flagship case study of ColdBlock's partner-led global expansion strategy.
- SGSflagshipSGS, one of the world's leading testing/inspection/certification companies, is among the first geochemistry laboratories to implement ColdBlock digestion technology. Publicly featured in Engineering News & Mining Weekly (July 2025) as a pioneer adopter.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Coldblock competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- PerkinElmer: Major analytical instrument vendor (ICP-MS, AA, digestion blocks) with broad lab presence — overlaps with ColdBlock at the sample-prep stage and adjacent to its customers.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific: Global leader in analytical instruments including ICP-MS, AAS, and sample-prep consumables — broad incumbent serving the same mining, environmental, and food lab customers as ColdBlock.
- Agilent Technologies: Major supplier of ICP-MS and atomic spectroscopy instruments used downstream of digestion — overlapping end customers (mining, environmental, food) and adjacent in the elemental analysis workflow.
- Mettler-Toledo: Global lab equipment vendor (balances, titrators, sample prep automation) serving the same regulated lab customers as ColdBlock — broad incumbent in adjacent lab instrumentation.
Direct peers
- Anton Paar: Austrian maker of microwave digestion systems (Multiwave 7000/7500) and lab instruments serving mining, environmental, and food labs — directly competes with ColdBlock in elemental analysis sample preparation.
- SCP SCIENCE (now part of Elemental Scientific): Provider of sample preparation consumables, digestion reagents, and digestion blocks for mining and environmental labs — competes with ColdBlock's chemistry/method approach.
- Analytik Jena: German vendor of digestion systems (e.g., novAA, TOPwave) and atomic absorption/ICP-OES instruments — competes in mining and environmental sample preparation.
- CEM Corporation: US manufacturer of microwave digestion systems (MARS series) widely used in mining, food, and environmental labs — direct competitor to ColdBlock's digestion workflow.
- Milestone Srl: Italian maker of microwave digestion (ETHOS, START) and direct mercury analyzers used in mining and environmental labs — competes head-to-head with ColdBlock Pro Series.
Emerging players
- Aurora Biomed: Canadian lab instrument maker offering digestion and atomic spectroscopy solutions — emerging peer with overlapping mining/environmental lab customers.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Coldblock social profiles
Digital presenceColdblock compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Coldblock financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Coldblock leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Coldblock funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors9 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Coldblock M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Coldblock
What does Coldblock do?
ColdBlock Technologies Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells patented sample digestion instruments (Pro Series CBS, CBM, CBL and Standard Series CB15/CB12) that use focused short-wave infrared heating combined with a unique cooling zone to rapidly dissolve solid samples into solution for multi-element analysis. The hardware is paired with a portfolio of named application methods (Strong Acid Digestion, Black Mass Digestion, Food Testing, and Soil Analysis) and supported by an in-house R&D lab offering custom method development and sample testing services to mining, environmental, food, agricultural, academic, and battery-recycling laboratories worldwide.
Is Coldblock a public or private company?
Coldblock is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Coldblock founded?
Coldblock was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Coldblock based?
Coldblock is headquartered in Niagara Falls, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Coldblock make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Hardware Sales of Digestion Units are the primary driver. The others are consumables and Accessories, R&D Lab Services and Sample Testing and distributor Channel Sales.
Who are Coldblock's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are PerkinElmer, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Agilent Technologies and Mettler-Toledo. Direct peers are Anton Paar, SCP SCIENCE (now part of Elemental Scientific), Analytik Jena, CEM Corporation and Milestone Srl. Aurora Biomed is listed as an emerging player.
Does Coldblock have an API?
No public API is recorded for Coldblock.
What industry is Coldblock in?
Coldblock's product category is Laboratory Sample Preparation Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAIAC, General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens), with a secondary code of HLAGAIAJ, Sample Preparation, Storage & Cryogenics (Freezers, Cryovials, Cryostats). Its NAICS code is 334516 and its SIC code is 3826.