Tradewater
Tradewater is a Chicago-based, B-Corporation founded in 2016 that collects and permanently destroys super pollutant greenhouse gases—halocarbon refrigerants and methane from orphaned U.S. oil and gas wells—and sells verified carbon credits to enterprises, small businesses, higher education institutions, and individuals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Tradewater does
Tradewater is a Chicago-based, certified B-Corporation founded in 2016 that specializes in the collection, control, and permanent destruction of super pollutant greenhouse gases. Its core activities target two non-CO2 emission categories: halocarbons (CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, halons) sourced from legacy refrigeration and fire suppression stockpiles globally, and methane emitted from orphaned and abandoned U.S. oil and gas wells. The company identifies emission sources, applies proprietary measurement methodologies (peer-reviewed by Project Drawdown, Project Wren, Calyx Global, and Brown University), and executes physical destruction — refrigerant reclamation/incineration and well plugging — generating verified, dated, ex-ante carbon credits that represent physically documented mitigation events.
The business operates three revenue streams: transaction-based sales of carbon credits (to enterprises, individuals via self-service, higher education institutions, and SMBs through the Carbon Neutral Collective subscription), professional service fees for on-site refrigerant collection and destruction, and methane well plugging services for asset owners and regulators. The go-to-market blends enterprise direct sales with B-Corp and validator referral channels (Project Wren, Project Drawdown, Giving Green), creating a credibility-driven distribution model in a market where offset quality skepticism is the dominant buyer objection. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; enterprise deals are bespoke while the SMB CNC subscription is monthly. Cumulative reported impact is 11.08 million tons CO2e destroyed, with a stated public target of 30 million tons by 2030.
In January 2026, J.F. Lehman & Company acquired a majority stake in Tradewater LLC & Affiliates via its $2.2 billion sixth fund, simultaneously acquiring Reclamation Technologies USA and combining the two into a single environmental services platform for refrigerant lifecycle management and methane mitigation. The transaction installed Jeff Laborsky as platform CEO and Katelyn Imrie as President, while founder Tim Brown was succeeded as Tradewater CEO by Kirsten Dueck. Tradewater continues to operate under its own brand within the new platform structure.
Tradewater firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Tradewater
- Legal name
- Tradewater LLC
- Website
- https://tradewater.us
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Tradewater is a Chicago-based, B-Corporation founded in 2016 that collects and permanently destroys super pollutant greenhouse gases—halocarbon refrigerants and methane from orphaned U.S. oil and gas wells—and sells verified carbon credits to enterprises, small businesses, higher education institutions, and individuals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Tradewater industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Carbon Credit & Environmental Services
- NAICS
- Hazardous Waste Collection (562112), Environmental Consulting Services (541620)
- SIC
- Refrigeration & Service Industry Machinery (3580), Oil & Gas Field Machinery & Equipment (3533), Chemicals & Allied Products (2800)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Methane Abatement Projects (Landfill Gas, Manure, Coal Mine Methane, O&G Methane) (EUABABAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Project-Originated Carbon Credit Marketing & Offtake (Primary Market) (EUAGAIAC), Carbon Offtake Structuring & Contracting (ERPA, Long-term Offtakes, Price Floors) (EUABADAE)
Keywords
Where Tradewater is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Tradewater business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Carbon Credits Sales: Tradewater generates revenue through the sale of verified, high-quality carbon credits resulting from their refrigerant destruction and methane well plugging projects. The support from credit purchases is reinvested to scale climate impact. Each credit represents verified destruction of potent greenhouse gases.
- Refrigerant Solutions Services: Tradewater provides refrigerant collection and destruction services for businesses and organizations with old refrigerants that need to be responsibly destroyed, generating service revenue.
- Methane Solutions Services: Tradewater offers orphaned well plugging services, identifying, measuring, and permanently sealing methane-emitting wells to generate carbon credits and service revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Custom carbon credit packages for enterprise partners |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual climate action solutions |
| Subscription | Monthly | Carbon Neutral Collective for small businesses |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Tradewater product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Tradewater collects, controls, and destroys potent super-pollutant greenhouse gases — primarily halocarbons (refrigerants and halons) and methane from orphaned oil-and-gas wells — and sells verified carbon credits generated from these activities to enterprises, small businesses, higher-education institutions, and individuals. It also provides direct refrigerant collection and destruction services and orphaned-well plugging services to businesses and well operators, supported by online carbon-footprint calculation tools.
Product overview
Tradewater is a mission-based certified B-Corporation that operates as a unified platform for eliminating super pollutant greenhouse gases. The company offers two primary service lines: Halocarbons (refrigerant and halon collection/destruction) and Methane Solutions (orphaned well plugging). These core environmental services generate verified carbon credits that are sold to individuals, enterprises, higher education institutions, and small businesses. Tradewater provides additional tools including carbon footprint calculators and operates as both a direct service provider and partner platform. The company has eliminated 11.08 million tons of CO2e since 2016 and is targeting 30 million tons by 2030.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Halocarbon Collection and Destruction On-site and centralized collection, transportation, and certified destruction of legacy halocarbons (refrigerants and halons) for businesses, governments, and refrigerant holders; delivered as a paid environmental service that also generates verified carbon credits.
- Methane Well Identification and Plugging Identification, methane-emission measurement, and permanent plugging of orphaned and uncontrolled oil and gas wells in the United States; sold as a paid environmental service to well operators, landowners, and state orphaned-well programs, generating verified carbon credits.
- Verified Carbon Credits Verified, peer-reviewed carbon credits issued by Tradewater from its halocarbon-destruction and orphaned-well-plugging activities, sold to enterprises, small businesses, higher-education institutions, and individuals to support carbon-neutrality claims.
- Refrigerant Solutions Service offering for businesses and organizations holding old refrigerants that need to be responsibly collected and destroyed to prevent environmental harm.
- Orphaned Wells Solutions Service offering identifying and permanently plugging leaking methane wells to prevent greenhouse-gas emissions from orphaned oil and gas infrastructure, for well operators, landowners, and state orphan-well programs.
Quantifiable outcome
- 11.08 million tons CO2e eliminated since 2016, on path to prevent 30 million tons by 2030
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Tradewater
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Tradewater technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Tradewater partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Reclamation Technologies USA (RTI)flagshipRTI, a full-service refrigerant recovery and reclamation provider based in Indianapolis, was acquired alongside Tradewater by J.F. Lehman & Company to form a new environmental services platform combining RTI's refrigerant recovery with Tradewater's methane and refrigerant collection capabilities.
- Project WrencoreProject Wren rigorously peer-reviewed Tradewater's carbon credit methodologies, independently reviewing and validating refrigerant destruction projects. Based on their research, Project Wren recommends Tradewater as one of the highest-quality, most impactful, and lowest-cost carbon offset methods available.
- GoodeeflagshipGoodee, a B-Corp e-commerce company headquartered in Montreal, partnered with Tradewater to offset their 2023 carbon emissions. The partnership is particularly meaningful given Tradewater's refrigerant destruction work aligning with the Montreal Protocol.
- Giving GreencoreGiving Green provides carbon offset research and recommendations, endorsing Tradewater offsets as highly credible with direct links to decreasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
- VeerlessminorVeerless, a Carbon Neutral Certified technology company with team members in Minnesota and Illinois, partnered with Tradewater to offset their 2023 emissions, finding value in the regional proximity of Tradewater's Great Lakes Region work.
- Project DrawdownflagshipProject Drawdown, a leading climate research organization, provides expert validation of Tradewater's carbon credits, describing them as tangible and measurable offsets with direct emission prevention impact.
- Calyx GlobalcoreCalyx Global independently assessed Tradewater's projects and determined they are a good fit for carbon markets—financially dependent on carbon revenue, easy to measure, with no non-permanence risks and low risks of leakage and overlapping claims.
- Brown UniversitycoreBrown University's sustainability team conducted independent review and is satisfied that Tradewater's credits meet high standards for offsetting carbon emissions, making them a preferred option for institutional climate action.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Tradewater competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Reclamation Technologies USA (RTI): Full-service refrigerant recovery and reclamation provider. Now a sister company within the J.F. Lehman platform alongside Tradewater, but operates in the same halocarbon collection/destruction value chain, with overlapping customers and complementary capabilities (RTI handles reclamation; Tradewater handles permanent destruction).
- WellDone International: Mission-driven orphaned and abandoned oil & gas well plugging company. Direct competitor in Tradewater's U.S. methane abatement service line, pursuing similar environmental-impact narrative, federal funding capture, and carbon credit origination from well-plugging projects.
- South Pole Group: Large carbon project developer and credit originator/marketer working across forestry, renewables, and industrial gas sectors. Comparable as a vertically integrated carbon-credit origination, advisory, and sales business targeting enterprise sustainability buyers.
- 3Degrees: Carbon credit project developer and broker with portfolio across methane capture, refrigerant destruction, and nature-based projects. Comparable GTM motion (enterprise climate advisory, REC/offset sales) and customer segments to Tradewater.
Broad incumbents
- A-Gas: Global largest refrigerant reclaim and lifecycle services company, with halocarbon recovery and destruction services across multiple continents. Serves as the dominant incumbent in the refrigerant reclamation market Tradewater competes in, particularly for AIM Act compliance work in the U.S.
- Hudson Technologies: Public refrigerant services and reclamation company serving commercial, industrial and government customers. Closest publicly-traded peer in refrigerant lifecycle management and reclaim services competing for AIM Act-driven compliance volume.
Emerging players
- Pachama: AI-driven carbon credit marketplace and quality verification platform. Competes for the same enterprise buyers Tradewater sells into, but with a fintech/marketplace model rather than project origination; overlaps in the "high-quality, third-party-validated offsets" positioning.
- Patch: Carbon credit API and embedded infrastructure platform for businesses to procure verified offsets. Competes for Tradewater's enterprise channel through a developer/API distribution model rather than direct sales.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Tradewater social profiles
Digital presenceTradewater compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Tradewater financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Tradewater leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Tradewater funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Tradewater M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Tradewater
What does Tradewater do?
Tradewater collects, controls, and destroys potent super-pollutant greenhouse gases — primarily halocarbons (refrigerants and halons) and methane from orphaned oil-and-gas wells — and sells verified carbon credits generated from these activities to enterprises, small businesses, higher-education institutions, and individuals. It also provides direct refrigerant collection and destruction services and orphaned-well plugging services to businesses and well operators, supported by online carbon-footprint calculation tools.
Is Tradewater a public or private company?
Tradewater is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Tradewater founded?
Tradewater was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Tradewater based?
Tradewater is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Tradewater make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Carbon Credits Sales are the primary driver. The others are refrigerant Solutions Services and methane Solutions Services.
Who are Tradewater's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Reclamation Technologies USA (RTI), WellDone International, South Pole Group and 3Degrees. Broad incumbents are A-Gas and Hudson Technologies. Emerging players are Pachama and Patch.
Does Tradewater have an API?
No public API is recorded for Tradewater.
What industry is Tradewater in?
Tradewater's product category is Carbon Credit & Environmental Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUABABAL, Methane Abatement Projects (Landfill Gas, Manure, Coal Mine Methane, O&G Methane), with a secondary code of EUAGAIAC, Project-Originated Carbon Credit Marketing & Offtake (Primary Market). Its NAICS code is 562112 and its SIC code is 3580.