Cool Planet, a renewable energy and ag technology company has closed an additional financing round with its current investors and hired James Loar to lead Cool Planet's biocarbon business. Loar will be responsible for leading a team to further develop the market and sales of CoolTerra™, a soil amendment that saves water and fertilizer, sequesters carbon, and delivers transformative benefits to a diverse set of industries.

'Jim is a well-known, respected leader in the agriculture industry and brings decades of experience to Cool Planet as we continue to commercialize our biocarbon business. We are fortunate to attract a top leader of Jim's caliber to focus on the compelling market opportunities for our CoolTerra™ product'

The internal financing round was led by Northbridge Venture Partners, the first investor in Cool Planet, and Yung's Enterprise, the Hong Kong-based investor who anchored the company's most recent D-round financing. The financing will further advance Cool Planet's biocarbon technology and provide growth capital to broadly develop the market as the company continues to pursue plans in parallel to deploy its carbon-negative fuel technology.

Jim Loar brings over 25 years of experience in the crop inputs sector to Cool Planet. Jim was most recently with the Wilbur-Ellis Company, the fourth largest agricultural retailer in the U.S., where he served as Vice President of Operations for the $2.1 billion Ag Division. Wilbur-Ellis Company markets and distributes a wide range of agricultural products, animal feed, and specialty chemicals and ingredients, both domestically and internationally.

'Jim is a well-known, respected leader in the agriculture industry and brings decades of experience to Cool Planet as we continue to commercialize our biocarbon business. We are fortunate to attract a top leader of Jim's caliber to focus on the compelling market opportunities for our CoolTerra™ product,' said Cool Planet CEO, Howard Janzen.

'CoolTerra™ is a platform product that will positively benefit Ag producers in a number of ways. Improved crop productivity, soil health and water conservation are just some of the benefits that CoolTerra™ brings to agriculture. I am thrilled to be joining the experienced and success driven Cool Planet team and to have the opportunity to help develop and drive transformational technologies,' said Loar.

Prior to his 13 years with Wilbur-Ellis Company, Loar spent 15 years at Griffin LLC., a leader in crop protection including fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, plant growth regulators, and aquatics. Loar received his Bachelor of Nautical Science from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY and his Master of Business Administration from Ohio University in Athens, OH. He served in the United States Naval Reserve for 10 years.

Kincannon & Reed, a leading global executive search firm focused on the food, agribusiness, and biosciences sectors, conducted a nationwide search for the position.

About CoolTerra™

CoolTerra™ is delivering new solutions for agriculture and water conservation. CoolTerra™ acts as a virtual sponge to retain water and nutrients at the root zone, establishing lasting, naturally organic support systems for crops. With reductions in water and fertilizer, CoolTerra™ maintained or improved total production levels. CoolTerra™ also sequesters carbon from the atmosphere, helping to reverse climate change by taking CO2 captured by plants and storing it in the soil underground.

Find more about the CoolTerra™ product at www.coolterra.com; On Twitter: @CoolTerraNews; On Facebook: facebook.com/CoolTerraNews

About Cool Planet

Cool Planet is commercializing a technology to create green fuels and biocarbon in ways that can change the world for good. The company's green fuels are chemically identical to fossil fuels, and its CoolTerra™ product increases crop productivity and promotes more robust plant health while reducing fertilizer and water requirements. The process is capable of being carbon-negative, reversing the consequences of carbon dioxide build-up from fossil fuels. Cool Planet's technology has a broad portfolio of pending and granted patents. Strategic investors include BP, Google Ventures, the Constellation division of Exelon, Energy Technology Ventures (GE, NRG and Conoco Phillips), and leading venture capital investors, including North Bridge Venture Partners.