Invested In Climate

Turning waste into energy onsite with Closed Loop Partners & HomeBiogas, Ep #62

Jul 25, 2023

39:17

I love talking about food waste. It’s one of the biggest contributors to emissions and something that we all contribute to every day. Reducing how much food goes uneaten is, of course, a big part of the solution, but there’ll always be organic waste. If it sits in a landfill, it’ll emit methane and miss the chance to be used as a resource.

Today’s episode focuses on an Israeli startup that sees organic waste as a precious resource. HomeBiogas turns waste into fuel onsite to be used for heating and cooking. They’re off to the races selling their products for a range of applications – from backyards to hotels – and they’re just getting started. We’re joined today by HomeBiogas’ founder Oshik Efrati, and one of their key investors Ron Gonen from Closed Loop Partners. We talk about both guests' backgrounds, the challenges and opportunities to create a circular economy, anaerobic digestion, how HomeBiogas turns waste into energy, the opportunity they see, and much more. Here we go.

In today’s episode, we cover:

[3:03] Oshik’s background & what led him to launch HomeBiogas
[4:51] Ron’s experience in recycling and waste & what led him to founding Closed Loop Partners
[7:08] Closed Loop Partner & the ways it’s working to eliminate waste
[9:06] The impact of waste on climate & why solutions are needed
[10:32] How Oshik sees the problem & what his company is working to solve
[11:43] How HomeBiogas is approaching the problem
[13:44] Anaerobic digestion & what else makes HomeBiogas’ systems possible
[16:09] The potential that Closed Loop Partners sees in HomeBiogas as an investor
[17:43] Oshik’s view of the market opportunity
[18:19] Measuring climate & environmental impacts
[19:51] HomeBiogas’ traction, different applications & go-to-market
[21:06] The process of converting waste to energy in buildings
[22:25] The toilet market & what HomeBiogas is able to do with human waste
[24:33] What’s most critical to HomeBiogas’ success
[25:39] Partnerships that HomeBiogas has developed & is looking for now
[28:06] The residential market in the US
[31:19] The next few years from a business & impact perspective
[33:03] How does this space compare to other circular economy verticals
[34:22] What else is needed for realizing the circular economy