EcoNomad raises £400K to bring waste-to-energy tech to small farms
What's the deal? EcoNomad SolutionsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised £400,000 in an early-stage round to help small livestock farms turn organic waste into renewable energy. The British Design FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → contributed £230,000, alongside an Innovate UK Business ConnectDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → grant and further backing from existing investor Beeches GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? The company's patented flagship product, BioNomad, captures methane, converts organic waste into biogas for heating, cooking or electricity, and produces biofertiliser. A typical smallholding of around 50 cows may cut energy and fertiliser costs by several thousand pounds a year, depending on operations.
Why now? Small and mid-sized farms face rising energy and fertiliser costs, tightening rules on slurry and waste, and pressure to cut methane emissions. Most existing anaerobic digestion systems are built for large farms, making them too costly, complex, or big for smaller operators.
Founder and chief executive officer Dr Ilan AdlerDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → developed BioNomad after seeing decentralised waste-to-energy systems support rural livelihoods in Latin America, then adapting the concept for colder climates during his PhD at University College London. A Royal Academy of EngineeringDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → fellowship supported early development.
What's the money for? The funding will progress product development and scale operations across the UK and Europe. The technology already runs on more than 10 farms in the UK, with installations in Africa and trials involving insect farms, food waste streams, and integrated biogas, solar, and wind systems.
"The BioNomad is designed to make waste-to-energy accessible, affordable and practical for even the smallest farms," Adler said.
The signal: Decentralised anaerobic digestion targets a segment large-scale renewable projects have overlooked, betting that smaller farms will pay for tools that cut costs and emissions at once. EcoNomad plans to evolve BioNomad into a fully automated, plug-and-play system to simplify adoption.
Read more: UK Business Angels Association
Image credit: USDAgov
