PureSphera

What PureSphera does

PureSphera is a Bécancour, Quebec-based recycling company founded in 2008 that specializes in end-of-life processing of household and commercial refrigeration appliances. Operating under Quebec's Extended Producer Responsibility (REP) framework, the company dismantles refrigerators, freezers, coolers, and air conditioners, extracts and destroys ozone-depleting halocarbures (CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs), and recovers metals, plastics, and other materials for downstream reuse. Its customer base spans Quebec municipalities, appliance retailers, eco-centers, commercial refrigeration operators (supermarkets, restaurants, convenience stores, hotels, laboratories), refrigeration service technicians, and parts-buying consumers, served principally through two official provincial valorization channels: the GoRecycle network for household appliances and the SORAC program for commercial and institutional equipment.

The company's core competitive asset is its proprietary SEG (Séparation, Extraction, Gestion) technology — the only installation in North America documented to capture halocarbures from polyurethane insulation foam, which contains roughly four times more halocarbures than the refrigerant circuit. Supporting process technology includes zero-oxygen (nitrogen-blanketed) cold shredding to prevent explosions and capture released gases, magnetic and induction separation for ferrous and non-ferrous metals, and an infrared-spectrum optical sorter for plastic classification. PureSphera reports a material recovery rate exceeding 96% and refrigerant destruction efficiency above 99.9999%; these metrics underpin the company's ability to generate verified carbon offset credits on the Quebec-California (WCI) market, where it executed the first 100% Quebec transaction.

PureSphera monetizes through fee-based recovery services under REP programs, sales of recovered materials (metals, plastics, decontaminated oil, purified PU foam sold as industrial absorbent), transaction fees on carbon credits sold on the WCI market, refrigerant-gas recovery services for refrigeration technicians, and e-commerce sales of recovered refrigerator parts through its RépareTonFrigo division. The facility represents roughly $15M of invested capital, employs approximately 60–75 people, and received ISO 14001 certification in June 2024. Beyond household and commercial refrigeration, the company also processes medical and laboratory refrigeration appliances (added to REP scope in June 2023). Since inception, PureSphera reports cumulative greenhouse-gas reductions in excess of 1.8 million tonnes CO2 equivalent and an annual reduction capacity of approximately 300,000 tonnes CO2eq.

Name

PureSphera

Legal name

PureSphera

Website

https://puresphera.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

PureSphera is a Bécancour, Quebec-based recycler that dismantles household and commercial refrigeration appliances, extracts and destroys halocarbures, and recovers metals and plastics. It serves municipalities, retailers, eco-centers, and commercial operators via Quebec's GoRecycle and SORAC producer-responsibility programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refrigeration Appliance Recycling and Halocarbon Destruction

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (56292)

akta.pro primary industry

Appliance (White Goods) Recycling & Refrigerant Recovery (BPALAIAK)

Keywords

• Refrigeration appliance recycling
• Halocarbon recovery services
• Refrigerant gas destruction
• Carbon credit generation
• Circular economy materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Bécancour

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Household Appliance Recovery (GoRecycle Program): Recovery and decontamination services for household refrigerators, freezers, coolers, and air conditioners through the GoRecycle Canada producer responsibility program. Revenue comes from fees paid by retailers and municipalities under Quebec's Extended Producer Responsibility (REP) regulations.
2. Commercial Appliance Recovery (SORAC Program): Dismantling and decontamination services for commercial and institutional refrigeration equipment through the SORAC program. Provides environmental certificates on GHG emissions avoided and complete mass balances to clients.
3. Carbon Credits (WCI Market): Sale of carbon credits generated from optimal refrigerant capture and destruction. PureSphera is the largest generator of compensatory credits in Quebec's carbon market. R-22 and other refrigerants are now eligible for the carbon financial market.
4. Refrigerator Parts Resale (RépareTonFrigo): E-commerce sale of recovered refrigerator parts (drawers, bins, shelves, baskets, door accessories) through the online platform www.reparetonfrigo.com, extending appliance lifespan and supporting circular economy.
5. Refrigerant Gas Recovery Services: Service for refrigeration technicians (frigoristes) to recover refrigerant gases. May result in cost reduction, elimination, or gain on disposal fees. Provides destruction certificates and environmental compliance attestation.
6. Recovered Materials Sales: Sale of recovered materials (metals, plastics, purified polyurethane) to specialized recyclers. Materials include ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, decontaminated oil, and purified PU foam used as industrial absorbent.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PureSphera is a specialized end-of-life refrigeration appliance recycler operating from a single plant in Bécancour, Quebec. It dismantles household and commercial refrigerators, freezers, coolers, and air conditioners; extracts and destroys harmful halocarbons (CFC, HFC, HCFC) including those trapped in polyurethane insulation foam; separates and valorizes recovered ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, plastics, oil, and purified PU foam; and sells high-quality carbon offset credits on the WCI carbon market. It also operates RépareTonFrigo, an e-commerce division selling recovered refrigerator replacement parts to extend appliance lifespans.

Product overview

PureSphera offers a suite of complementary services centered on the optimal demanufacturing and decontamination of household and commercial refrigeration appliances, the destruction of ozone-depleting and climate-warming halocarbures (CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs), and the valorization of recovered materials. The core offerings include two distinct appliance recovery programs — the domestic appliance program (GoRecycle) and the commercial appliance program (SORAC) — both leveraging the company's proprietary SEG (Séparation, Extraction, Gestion) technology and optical plastic sorting system. A secondary brand, RépareTonFrigo, sells recovered refrigerator parts (drawers, bins, shelves, baskets, door accessories) online, extending the circular economy model. PureSphera also generates and sells carbon offset credits on the WCI carbon market, and provides environmental certificates documenting GHG reductions avoided to its clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RépareTonFrigo: Online division selling recovered refrigerator parts (drawers, bins, shelves, baskets, door accessories) for most brands, promoting circular economy through parts reuse.

Products and services

• Household Refrigeration Appliance Recovery (GoRecycle Program) Turnkey dismantling, decontamination, and halocarbon destruction service for end-of-life household refrigeration appliances collected through the GoRecycle Canada program by Quebec eco-centers and appliance retailers, with environmental certificates and mass balances provided to help municipal and retailer clients meet Quebec Extended Producer Responsibility (REP) obligations.
• Commercial Refrigeration Appliance Recovery (SORAC Program) End-to-end field service for supermarkets, restaurants, convenience stores, hotels, and other commercial operators to dismantle, decontaminate, and destroy halocarbons contained in end-of-life commercial refrigeration equipment under the SORAC program designated by RECYC-QUÉBEC, including environmental certificates on avoided GHG emissions and complete mass balances.
• Refrigerant Gas Recovery Service for Technicians Managed disposal service for professional refrigeration technicians who recover refrigerant gases (CFC, HCFC, HFC, R-22/Freon) during service work, providing shipment document handling, transportation, destruction certificates, and environmental compliance attestations; R-22 volumes are admissible to Quebec's carbon financial market and may reduce, eliminate, or generate a gain on disposal fees for the technician.
• RépareTonFrigo (Online Resale of Recovered Refrigerator Parts) E-commerce storefront of PureSphera's wholly-owned subsidiary RépareTonFrigo, offering recovered refrigerator parts — drawers, bins, shelves, baskets, and door accessories — for most brands, including discontinued SKUs that manufacturers no longer supply, with Quebec-wide delivery to consumers and repair technicians looking to extend appliance lifespans.
• Carbon Offset Credits on the WCI Carbon Market High-quality carbon offset credits derived from PureSphera's refrigerant capture and destruction process, validated for the Quebec-California (WCI) carbon market and sold to buyers seeking compliance-grade emission reductions; PureSphera is the largest compensatory credit generator on Quebec's regulated carbon market.
• Environmental Certificate on Avoided GHG Emissions Document delivered to PureSphera's commercial and institutional clients indicating the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions avoided through PureSphera's recovery and destruction of their end-of-life refrigeration equipment, accompanied by complete mass balances and traceability of environmental performance indicators for ESG and compliance reporting.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.8 million tonnes CO2eq reduced since 2008
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ÉquiterreminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023PureSphera supported Équiterre in publishing a brief on planned obsolescence to ensure robust and accessible right to repair for Quebec consumers. Advocate for displaying durability indices on consumer goods.
• SORAC (Société de récupération des appareils commerciaux)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 June 2022Official valorization center recognized by SORAC, the producer responsibility organization designated by Recyc-Québec for commercial and institutional refrigeration equipment. Manages end-of-life commercial refrigeration equipment including refrigerators, freezers, display cases, ice machines, and beverage dispensers.
• GoRecycle CanadacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 April 2021Official valorization center partner for GoRecycle Canada program, responsible for dismantling and decontaminating household refrigerators, freezers, and coolers collected from Quebec eco-centers and retailers. Extracts and destroys halocarbures and provides environmental certificates.
• RECYC-QUÉBECcoreOthersGovernment body that designates official valorization centers. PureSphera recognized as official center for recovering refrigerators, freezers, coolers, dehumidifiers, heat pumps, and air conditioners under Quebec's Extended Producer Responsibility regulations.
• IntertekminorOthersQuality and safety assurance organization that conducted the audit and issued the ISO 14001 certification to PureSphera's Bécancour plant for environmental management systems.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Kuusakoski: Finnish metals and appliance recycler with industrial dismantling capability. Comparable feedstock (end-of-life white goods) and downstream metals recovery, though with a heavier metals focus than PureSphera's refrigerant-first orientation.
• Veolia Environmental Services: Global environmental services operator with hazardous waste, appliance, and refrigerant handling capabilities. Sized several orders larger than PureSphera but overlaps on industrial waste valorization and EPR-compliant recycling services.
• Stena Recycling: Large Nordic environmental services group operating appliance, electronics, and metals recycling. Broadly comparable end-to-end materials recovery, though primarily serving European geographies rather than competing with PureSphera in Quebec.
• Kuusakoski / Schnitzer Steel Recycling: U.S. metals recycling major that processes large volumes of end-of-life appliances for ferrous and non-ferrous metals recovery. Comparable on the materials-output side of PureSphera's value chain, though not on the refrigerant destruction franchise.
• Suez Environmental Services: Global waste management and recycling company with dedicated e-waste and appliance processing lines in multiple jurisdictions. Comparable on regulated recycling streams and carbon credit generation, but operates as a broad portfolio player.

Emerging players

• MBA Polymers: Specialist in recovering high-value plastics from end-of-life appliances and electronics. Closely comparable on the post-shredder materials valorization step PureSphera performs via optical sorting and PU foam purification.

Direct peers

• Coolrec: European refrigerator and freezer recycling specialist (formerly part of Whirlpool). Operates dedicated refrigerant recovery and material separation lines, making it the closest international comp to PureSphera's household appliance dismantling model.
• Electronic Recyclers International (ERI): Largest U.S. e-waste recycler with dedicated appliance and refrigerator dismantling lines, including CFC/HFC recovery. Direct analog to PureSphera in terms of processing capability, refrigerant handling, and EPR-adjacent feedstock.
• GEEP (Global Electric Electronic Processing): Barrie, Ontario-based processor of end-of-life electronics and appliances, including refrigerant recovery. Canadian headquarter and overlapping service offering make it a strong direct comp to PureSphera for the household appliance stream.
• Quantum Lifecycle Partners: Canadian ITAD and appliance/e-waste recycler with multiple Canadian processing facilities. Overlaps with PureSphera on white goods handling and downstream materials recovery, although it does not focus on halocarbure-from-foam capture.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCDV9QiF7P6cvxW398k16U8g
• Facebookfacebook.com/puresphera/?trk=biz-companies-cym
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/puresphera

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 PureSphera