I recently had the opportunity to speak with Oshik Efrati, the CEO of HomeBiogas. Oshik co-founded HomeBiogas 10 years ago with two partners, Yair Teller and Erez Lanzer. With a project to revolutionize the world of waste with our new technology, they have developed a formula that converts food scraps into renewable energy.
Gary Drenik: What is the mission of HomeBiogas?
Oshik Efrati: The story of HomeBiogas begins with 3 old friends. Our project is to provide sustainable responses for sanitation and renewable energy to communities around the world. What many other people waste today, we turn into a resource for clean, renewable energy. Our adventure spans several continents and countless hours of R
Landfills are incredibly destructive to the global environment and the local communities where they are located. We look forward to our solution to the need for landfills.
We have 3 pillars:
One of the most important aspects of HomeBiogas is that everything is done on site: biogas plants exist and do vital work, but they are located outside cities and require the transportation of waste in trucks that generate pollution. HomeBiogas systems do everything on site, plus reduce pollution.
Today, the world produces more than 2 billion tons of forged waste, and is expected to reach 3400 million tons by 2050. By volume, the world’s waste contains 44% food and biological matter, and that’s where the HomeBiogas solution comes in. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) July 2020 report on food waste measures estimated that the hotel and institutional sectors, which are to blame for only 25% of total food waste, generated 24 million tons of waste in 2016.
Throughout 2022, we will launch our advertising system, which will be aimed at advertising-sized kitchens. Companies want to perceive that they have a duty to the planet. ESG goals were set for a reason. In addition, according to a recent Prosper Insights Survey report.
Drenik: Who are HomeBiogas systems?
Efrati: In 2022, we will expand into two new markets: and residential.
The advertising facet will be in green buildings, advertising kitchens, hotels, hospitals, schools and more.
We already installed the commercial formula in institutional kitchens in Israel where the formula processes food scraps and occupies only two parking spaces. In addition to generating fuel to heat water, the HomeBiofuel formula produces a biofertilizer that is used for trees. , gardens or crops close to the formula.
When it comes to the residential market, we see that in the evolving world, more and more people are interested in recycling, replacing the climate and the environment. A recent article in the New York Times explained that more and more people need to rely on their own energy and are disconnecting their homes from the grid.
We are active in over a hundred countries and have worked with populations in emerging countries because our formula is absolutely off the grid. In India, we recently established our formulas in a village that will contribute to women’s empowerment and gender equality. in that community, as local women are meant to be safer and healthier because they must cook without breathing destructive smoke. In addition, HomeBiogas formulas help farmers in those communities and have the potential to meet the next need for organic farming. In addition, we have developed a biological toilet solution that connects to the HomeBiogas formula to convert human waste from the toilet directly into blank energy. This is a solution for the other 2. 3 billion people who do not have access to basic toilets (according to World Health Organization estimates).
We have also put our systems in place in UN refugee camps in Africa: The UN resolution to put these state-of-the-art systems in place in refugee camps is based on the fact that those systems treat waste sustainably and convert it into energy (bio-fertilizers and cooking gas) that will be used through refugees for cooking, heating, sanitation and agriculture. In addition, the systems are designed for remote spaces and work well in extreme conditions.
Drenik: Why is it so vital to implement systems like HomeBiogas in sustainability practices?
Efrati: according to a survey by Prosper Insights
Drenik: What is the effect of HomeBiogas on the world today?The future?
Efrati: Today, we are witnessing an increase in fuel costs in Europe. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the “REPowerEU” plan, published in early March 2022, focuses on tactics to make Europe independent of Russian fossil fuels until 2030, starting with fuel, as about 40% of Europe’s herbal fuel comes from Russia. As a result, the European Commission has doubled its target for local biofuel production until 2030. Some countries are already active in the next biofuel production in Europe, while many others are starting to this potential.
In the United States, more companies, states, and municipalities are implementing sustainability projects and regulations similar to food waste and landfills. Solutions like HomeBiogas will soon be imperative for diverting food waste from landfills.
In fact, if we talk about the (not so distant) future, a HomeBiogas formula was incorporated into an AMADEE-20 simulated area station, the most complex manned Mars project simulation to date. HomeBiogas’ formulas were used to convert the biological waste created by the project into energy, solving two problems: disposing of the waste on Mars and generating energy for the project, two valuable resources in the area.
We see HomeBiofuel as a component of the circular economy, contributing to the estimated $4500 million circular opportunity through 2030: our business models offer a transparent path to achieving our collective climate goals, addressing greenhouse fuel emissions from the extraction, processing, production and dumping of goods. Instead of letting our waste get lost, we turn it into a valuable resource. We aim to revolutionize the world of waste through technology.
Drenik: Thank you, Oshik, for your time and for how food scraps meet generation to create renewable energy.