WASE secures over £8.5m to scale waste-to-energy technology

WASE, a UK-based startup has raised over £8.5 million (€9.9 million), including £2.4 million (€2.8 million) in non-dilutive funding.
The financing round was led by Extantia Capital, with participation from Hitachi Ventures, WEPA Ventures, the family venture capital firm of the European multigenerational family business WEPA, and Engie New Ventures, the CVC arm of the global energy company Engie.
Other investors include Elbow Beach Capital and Empirical Ventures.
The round earmarks funds for WASE to scale operations, execute multi-million pounds of signed contracts and projects in their qualified pipeline, and build out their product offering.
WASE's proprietary Electro-Methanogenic Reactor (EMR) technology maximises the amount of biogas produced from biomass in anaerobic digestion (AD) plants, as well as from organic matter in wastewater, according to the company.
Its units increase biogas generation by 30% up to ten times faster, it went on to say.
The tech also increases the methane content of biogas to more than 80% compared to conventional AD where methane contents of 50-60% are more typical, added the firm.
"We want our technology to set a new standard in the waste treatment and energy sectors, by not only optimising waste breakdown but by boosting methane production across the board”, said Thomas Fudge, founder and CEO of WASE.
“We’re seeing a future of Waste-to-Energy that maximises economic and environmental benefits for all players involved, and we aim to play a major part in this transition by becoming leaders in the biogas market. Extantia and ENGIE, who deeply understand this sector, and all the investors supporting us in this round, will be invaluable resources to help us achieve this.”
Carlota Ochoa Neven Du Mont, principal at Extantia, said: “We strongly believe that biogas and biomethane will soon be a key source of renewables and will make up a growing percentage of the energy mix. WASE's approach doesn’t just increase biogas and biomethane yields from the AD process, making it more profitable and productive, it is reshaping the way industrial businesses are thinking about their resources.
"We think their cutting-edge technology, the know-how they have built-in commercialising their wastewater solutions, their existing supplier relationships, and their capital-efficient approach positions them well ahead of competitors in this space - and we’re delighted to support them.”