Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the energy industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked bioenergy solutions.
Out of 686, the Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Top Bioenergy Solutions
The insights of this data-driven analysis are derived from the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 2 093 000+ startups & scaleups globally. The platform gives you an exhaustive overview of emerging technologies & relevant startups within a specific field in just a few clicks.
The Global Startup Heat Map below reveals the distribution of the 686 exemplary startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. Further, it highlights 5 energy startups that we hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, and more. You get to explore the solutions of these 5 startups & scaleups in this report. For insights on the other 681 bioenergy solutions, get in touch.
Click to download
Cebcon Technologies enables Modular Biomass Processing
Biomass is a widely available renewable energy source, including feedstock from agriculture, forestry, fisheries, aquaculture, algae, and organic waste. Converting biomass to bioenergy requires burning, bacterial decay, fermentation, or conversion to gas/liquid fuel. However, many of these sources that generate biomass do not possess the capability to build or maintain processing facilities to generate bioenergy. To overcome this, startups are creating modular biomass processing solutions.
German startup CEBCON Technologies offers modular biomass processing solutions. The startup’s solutions use reinforced frame design in sea container format and are semi-mobile and extremely flexible. Additionally, the systems are highly energy-efficient due to design features such as integrated heat recovery and less energy-intensive components. The systems convert raw materials such as waste products from the wood and agricultural industry as well as bio-waste into bioenergy.
Vuma Biofuels produces Sustainable Briquettes
Wood is burnt as a source of fuel and energy in many industrial boilers. At industrial scales, massive amounts of wood are required, contributing to deforestation. As a method to overcome this, alternative biofuels serve as a replacement for traditional firewood. Startups are developing technologies to convert food and agricultural waste into biofuels.
Kenyan startup Vuma Biofuels produces a biofuel alternative for traditional firewood. The startup uses discarded sugarcane husks regarded as agricultural waste to produce sustainable bagasse briquettes. Moreover, these briquettes have double the heat output, longer burning duration, produce less smoke and pollution and have a lower ash content as compared to regular firewood. This gives farms an incentive to manage crop waste and industrial plant owners an economical way to reduce carbon emission using bioenergy.
Charm Industrial advances Biomass Gasification
Biomass is a renewable energy source that complements energy production from fossil fuels. However, although current biomass gasification uses agricultural waste, the process itself creates significant carbon emissions. To overcome this, startups are combining carbon capture along with biomass gasification to produce hydrogen in a carbon-neutral way.
US-based startup Charm Industrial uses fast pyrolysis to break down plant biomass into bio-oil. The bio-oil is high in carbon but low in energy content and is pumped into EPA-regulated injection wells to store the carbon. By heating biomass at 1 000°C without oxygen, the startup creates a gas stream that is then purified into carbon-neutral hydrogen. In addition to valorizing plant waste, the startup’s solution provides a sustainable source of hydrogen.
CarboREM transforms Waste into Biogas
Biogas is a green source of energy that reduces the emission of greenhouse gasses such as methane, CO2, nitrous oxide, and more. Although biogas is an energy-rich gas, its current production methods require significant investment, are inefficient, and leave behind recoverable chemical elements. Since most biogas production facilities generate more sludge than usable biogas, the technology is not widely adopted. This is why startups are creating solutions to increase the efficiency of new and existing biogas production plants.
Italian startup CarboREM develops technology to produce biogas in wastewater treatment plants. The startup’s hydrothermal conversion (HTC) technology reduces the volume of sludge, reducing costs related to transport and disposal while increasing the economics of sewage sludge plants. Moreover, their HTC C700 technology then transforms waste into a liquid that improves the process of biogas generation within anaerobic digesters. Additionally, the C700’s modularity allows it to be easily integrated into existing wastewater treatment facilities. The startup enables wastewater plant operators to reduce waste generation while creating green biofuel.
Divine Bamboo creates Clean Cooking Fuel
Coal and firewood still find use as a source of fuel for cooking by a large portion of the global population. The problem with using these as fuel sources is the high levels of carbon emissions and the unsustainable levels of their consumption and generation. Unclean fuel sources such as these not only present a risk to health, they also result in rapid deforestation and damage to the ecology. To overcome this problem, startups are using alternative renewable and sustainable materials such as bamboo to create cooking fuels.
Ugandan startup Divine Bamboo produces bamboo briquettes as a clean cooking fuel alternative to coal and firewood. The startup uses bamboo as it has a fast rate of growth, requires minimal maintenance, stores large amounts of carbon, and is easily integrable in both agroforestry and mixed farming systems. The startup’s solution eliminates the need for deforestation to produce biofuels. Moreover, to achieve the high scale of production, the startup trains rural women groups to produce bamboo briquettes, providing additional income while saving the environment.
Discover more Energy Startups
Energy startups such as the examples highlighted in this report focus on biofuels, syngas, and as well as waste-to-energy solutions. While all of these technologies play a major role in advancing the energy industry, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. To explore more energy technologies, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas of interest. For a more general overview, you can download our free Energy Innovation Report to save your time and improve strategic decision-making.
