What Refind Technologies does

Refind Technologies (legal entity RFND Technologies AB) is a Sweden-based private company, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Gothenburg, that develops machine-vision and deep-learning systems for identifying and physically sorting objects at industrial throughputs. The company's technology stack centers on Refind Mind, a proprietary neural-network software platform that builds image databases and performs real-time image classification, paired with modular camera enclosures (Photo Box RS25/RS50/RS100) and configurable sortation actuators including robot arms, pushing actuators, and air jets. From this general-purpose recognition platform, Refind has productized five specialized systems: the fourth-generation Optical Battery Sorter 500 (OBS500), which classifies cylindrical and 9V batteries into four chemistries at 500 kg per hour and 12 objects per second with 97-99% purity; the E-grader for used phones, tablets, and electronics at 2,000+ objects per hour; the Battery Refund Machine (BRM), marketed as the world's first reverse vending machine for household batteries; SpecieGrade for fish species recognition (65+ species) used in commercial fishing and conservation; and the Desktop Grader with smartphone-based Regrab app.

The company's customers are predominantly enterprise operators in regulated recycling and circular-economy value chains, including battery recyclers and collectors (Battery Solutions in the US, Raw Materials Company in Canada, Batteriretur in Norway, WasteCare and G&P Batteries in the UK, Elektro Recycling in Slovakia, CMA Ecocycle in Australia), ITADs and electronics refurbishers, and conservation organizations such as The Nature Conservancy. Refind generates revenue through direct enterprise sales of OBS series equipment, e-grader hardware sales, and Refind Sorter platforms; an outcome-based rental model on the e-grader tied to value created from scrap-to-reuse upgrades; usage-based software licensing for the Desktop Grader; and professional services for installation, commissioning, and training, with manufacturing of core feeding systems outsourced to sub-supplier Väner-Tekno. Additional channels include retail deployments of the Battery Refund Machine via partnerships (Coop Norway, Energizer) and research-project distribution for the SpecieGrade/Fish Face technology.

Commercially, Refind operates in eight or more countries across Europe, North America, and Oceania, with end markets shaped by extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations on batteries and electronics, marine conservation initiatives, and growing demand for high-purity recycled feedstock. Recent strategic positioning includes fourth-generation product launches, EU Horizon2020 research funding through the SustainablySMART consortium, recognition as an Ellen MacArthur Foundation/WEF AI and Circular Economy case study, and continued geographic expansion with the first Australian OBS500 installation completed in March 2020.

Name

Refind Technologies

Legal name

RFND Technologies AB

Website

https://refind.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Refind Technologies (Gothenburg, Sweden) builds machine-vision and deep-learning sorting systems for the recycling and circular-economy markets. Its products include OBS-series battery sorters, an E-grader for used electronics, the Battery Refund Machine kiosk, and SpecieGrade fish recognition, sold to battery recyclers, ITADs, and conservation organizations globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Machine Vision Sorting Equipment

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Electronic Components & Accessories (3670)

akta.pro primary industry

Advanced/Optical Sorting & Quality Control Services (NIR, AI, Robotics) (BPALADAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sorting, Grading & Optical Inspection Systems (Size/Color Sorters) (AFAAAJAC)

Keywords

• Machine vision sorting
• AI battery sorting
• Electronics grading systems
• Automated recycling equipment
• Object recognition technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Gothenburg

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Battery Sorting Equipment Sales: Sale of Optical Battery Sorter systems (OBS500, OBS600, OBS200) to battery recyclers and collectors. Equipment includes identification and sorting machinery with varying capacities and footprints. First generation launched 2012, with OBS600 launched 2014, OBS200 in 2016, and OBS500 as fourth generation.
2. Electronics Sorting Equipment: Sale and rental of e-grader and Refind Sorter systems for used electronics sorting. E-grader equipment can be rented based on value created through upgrading products from scrap to reuse.
3. Equipment Rental Model: E-grader equipment can be rented by customers with sufficient volumes or clear growth plans. Rent is based on the value created through upgrading of products from scrap to reuse, aligning company incentives with customer outcomes.
4. Software Licensing (Desktop Grader): Software license agreement for Desktop Grader based on usage levels. Pricing depends on application and usage patterns. Cloud-based classification and storage with smartphone app.
5. Custom Sorting Solutions: Custom sorting systems for specific customer requirements using modular Refind Sorter platform. Includes software, photo box, and sorting add-on components tailored to customer needs.
6. Professional Services: Installation, commissioning, training, and ongoing maintenance services for sorting equipment. Staff training provided during equipment installation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Refind Technologies designs, manufactures and sells intelligent sorting and grading systems that combine cameras and machine learning software to recognize items based on their visual characteristics. Its modular Refind Sorter platform pairs the proprietary Refind Mind neural network software with configurable camera modules and physical sorting hardware, and is delivered as specialized products for waste battery sorting (Optical Battery Sorter series), used electronics grading (E-grader, Desktop Grader), consumer battery collection (Battery Refund Machine), and fish species recognition (SpecieGrade). Customers are primarily battery recyclers, ITADs and electronics refurbishers, with installations across Europe, North America, Oceania and Indonesia.

Product overview

Refind Technologies provides a modular product portfolio centered on intelligent sorting and grading solutions using machine vision and deep learning. The core offerings include the Refind Sorter platform (with Refind Mind software, Photo Box camera modules, and Sorting add-ons), specialized hardware products (Optical Battery Sorter 500, E-grader, Desktop Grader, Battery Refund Machine BRM, and SpecieGrade), and supporting software like the Regrab app. The technology stack progresses from general-purpose recognition (Refind Mind neural networks) to industry-specific solutions for battery recycling, electronics grading, and fish species identification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SpecieGrade: Fish species recognition equipment for onboard use on fishing vessels.
• Refind Sorter
• OBS 500 (Optical Battery Sorter 500)
• OBS 600 (Optical Battery Sorter 600)
• OBS 200 (Optical Battery Sorter 200)
• Battery Refund Machine (BRM)
• E-grader
• Desktop Grader

Products and services

• Refind Sorter General-purpose intelligent sorting and grading system using machine vision and neural networks. Bundles the Refind Mind software, optional Photo Box camera module in three sizes (RS25 up to 25 cm, RS50 up to 50 cm, RS100 up to 100 cm), and a Sorting add-on with robot arms, pushing actuators and airjets. Used by collectors, ITADs, refurbishers and second-hand traders to identify make/model and route objects into reuse, refurbishment or recycling fractions.
• Optical Battery Sorter 500 (OBS500) Fourth-generation automatic optical sorter for waste portable batteries, processing up to 500 kg (1,000 lbs) per hour at 12 objects per second. Sorts cylindrical and 9V batteries into four chemistries (Alkaline, NiMH, NiCd, Primary Lithium) at 97-99% purity using a database of 2,700+ batteries, and logs real-time stream and market-share statistics.
• E-grader Automated grading and sorting system for used electronic products (phones, tablets, hard drives). Identifies make and model in real time and sorts devices into 3-5 grade fractions based on current market value, at 2,000+ objects per hour within a 6x2 meter footprint. Available for sale or rental with rent based on the value created by upgrading items from scrap to reuse.
• Battery Refund Machine (BRM) Consumer-facing reverse vending machine that accepts all types of household batteries and prints a discount coupon as a return incentive. Developed for retail deployment in partnership with Coop Norway and Energizer.
• SpecieGrade

Quantifiable outcome

• 97-99% purity rate in battery sorting fractions (>2.5% of volume)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Scala NorwaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2019Joint development partnership for SpecieGrade fish species recognition equipment. SpecieGrade deployed on Norwegian fishing vessel Ramoen for Nordic Sea field testing.
• ProAutomationminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 November 2018Austrian company specializing in automatic disassembly of cellphones. Partner in SustainablySMART project for live demo of automatic sorting and disassembly of smart mobile devices in Vienna.
• Coop NorwaycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 April 2017Launched world's first battery reverse vending machine in Coop Obs! stores in Oslo, Norway. Customers return batteries and receive 1 krone discount per battery. Refind developed the machine, Coop Norway provides retail locations.
• EnergizercoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 April 2017Partnership with Energizer for battery reverse vending machine launch in Norway. Energizer provides brand partnership and marketing support for the consumer-facing battery collection initiative.
• DTI (Danish Technology Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2017Research partnership for SOMEWAIR Eurostars project developing movie recording scanning program for multiple item database building. DTI and Refind working closely together on this research project.
• Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2016Government agency agreed to share data to help build the machine learning engine for Fish Face project. Provides fish stock data for training AI recognition systems.
• The Nature ConservancyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2015Fish Face project partnership for sustainable fishing technology. Refind provides AI-powered fish identification software and hardware. Project aims to collect fish population data using image recognition on fishing boats in Indonesia. Project won Google's People's Choice Award with 500,000 AUD funding. Later expanded with SpecieGrade product for commercial fishing.
• SustainablySMART Consortium (Horizon2020)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 201548-month Horizon2020 Research and Innovation programme starting September 2015 with 7 Million EUR total consortium budget. 17 European companies including Fairphone, Fraunhofer IZM, ProAutomation, and others. Refind provides feeding, identification and sorting of cellphones for disassembly and reuse optimization.
• Battery SolutionscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 March 2015First US customer and partnership for automated battery sorting technology. Battery Solutions acquired OBS600 system and became first US company to invest in automated sorting and data collection technology for waste batteries. Partnership to further develop applications for collected information.
• Väner-TeknominorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 February 2015Sub-supplier located in Lidköping, responsible for manufacturing the OBS feeding system. Single largest sub-supplier for Refind.
• WasteCarecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 November 2014WasteCare installed automatic battery sorting system from Refind Technologies. First UK installation of battery sorting equipment.
• WEEE ID Project ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2013Collaboration between Chalmers University, Chalmers Industriteknik, Refind, El-Kretsen, Nordic Recycling, and MRT Systems. Funded by Vinnova. Project focused on optimizing reuse and recycling methods for waste electronics. Refind built the e-grader machine as part of this project.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Redwood Materials: US battery materials recycler building closed-loop supply for EV cells. A downstream customer/procurement reference for high-purity battery feedstock — competitor only at the materials level, but symptomatic of capital flowing into Refind's served market.
• Keyence: Global industrial automation and machine-vision incumbent. While not focused on recycling, Keyence's vision systems and code readers are an adjacent (and budget) alternative large industrial customers may evaluate versus Refind Mind.
• Li-Cycle: North-American lithium-ion battery recycling specialist. Operates downstream of where Refind's optical sorters sit; signals the same regulatory tailwind (EU/US battery mandates) that drives demand for Refind's OBS equipment.
• Cognex Corporation: Leading US machine-vision company serving factory automation and logistics. Their vision platforms could be repurposed by large recyclers as a substitute for Refind Mind in higher-volume sorting lines.

Direct peers

• Steinert Elektromagnetbau: German sensor-based sorting equipment maker (NIR, XRT, optical) for recycling streams. Competes head-to-head with the Refind Sorter in e-waste and metal sorting applications across European recyclers.
• AMP Robotics: US-based AI/computer-vision company deploying robotic sorting systems in MRFs and e-waste facilities. Closest US peer in terms of vision-driven identification/automation for material recovery, with comparable ML architecture.
• TOMRA: Norwegian market leader in optical sorting and reverse vending machines. Operates TOMRA Collection (RVMs) and TOMRA Recycling (sensor-based sorting) — both directly comparable to Refind's OBS battery sorters and the Battery Refund Machine in Coop-style retail deployments.
• S+S Inspection (Separation & Sorting Technology): German specialist in optical sorting for food, recycling and packaging waste. Competitor in optical/laser sorting lines that recyclers evaluate alongside Refind Sorter systems.
• National Recovery Technologies (NRT): US optical sorter manufacturer focused on recycling, including battery and WEEE streams. Direct competitor in the battery-recycling automation niche that Refind pioneered with the OBS series.
• Sesotec: German manufacturer of metal detectors and sensor-based sorting systems for recycling and plastics. Sells optical/magnetic separators into the same European recycling customer base as Refind.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/refindtweets
• Instagraminstagram.com/refindtweets

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Refind Technologies