ENGIE acquires 13% minority stake in HomeBiogas, an Israeli startup pioneering the field of household biogas solutions

ENGIE acquires 13% minority stake in HomeBiogas, an Israeli startup pioneering the field of household biogas solutions

This investment will boost the development of HomeBiogas’ easy-to-install B2C biogas systems in both Europe and emerging countries and contribute to the global development of green gas and access to low-carbon and reliable energy.

La Défense, France, 26-Jul-2018 — /EuropaWire/ — ENGIE, through its Corporate Venture Capital fund “ENGIE New Ventures,” takes a 13% minority stake in HomeBiogas, a company pioneering the field of household biogas solutions.

HomeBiogas, an Israeli startup founded in 2012, developed “HomeBiogas 2.0,” a small size biogas digester perfectly adapted to families, that can be ordered online and easily self-assembled in only 1 hour. With as little as 2 kilos of food scraps or leftovers, HomeBiogas 2.0 can provide up to 2 hours of cooking gas daily, to be used with the included cooking stove. HomeBiogas 2.0 gives ordinary homeowners the capability of utilizing unused resources and creating their own energy. Additionally, HomeBiogas 2.0 creates a second by-product: organic, liquid fertilizer to nourish home crops and gardens. When used regularly the return on investment for the digester is only one year.

With customers in over 90 countries, the HomeBiogas waste-to-energy solution targets two distinct markets: it is a life-changing technology for the 540 million families living in emerging countries, currently without access to clean cooking fuels. Still burning charcoal and wood for fuel, millions of people face long-term detrimental health effects. “HomeBiogas gives a reliable, health and cost-effective solution to the people who need it the most. It provides free energy and gives the people the power over their waste management,” declared HomeBiogas CEO and Co-founder Oshik Efrati.

Moreover, the technology could enable 200 million families in developed countries to engage in concrete actions towards reducing their carbon footprint and living a more sustainable lifestyle. Each family can reduce their carbon footprint by 6 tons by using HomeBiogas 2.0 for one year.

“This investment illustrates ENGIE’s commitment to providing low-carbon and reliable energy access to people globally, as well as to developing green gas solutions. The HomeBiogas business model is smart and simple, two qualities that convinced us to invest in their company and to help them boost their development both in Europe and in developing countries,” says Hendrik Van Asbroeck, Director of ENGIE New Ventures.

Lack of access to energy is among the biggest challenges for rural areas in developing countries, contributing to many problems that range from deforestation and water and air pollution to disease epidemics. ENGIE, a leader and pioneer of the energy transition, develops a range of solutions with an objective of providing access to sustainable energy for 20 million people by 2020; among ENGIE’s projects are Power Corner, a mini-grid offer in Tanzania, and Fenix International which offers Solar Home Systems in Africa. HomeBiogas complements this range of solutions, adding a green gas component. It also contributes to the goal of the ENGIE Group to develop biogas at a larger scale, as green gas and green electricity are both necessary for a decarbonized and decentralized energy world, and thus to foster a more harmonious progress.

To know more about “HomeBiogas,” click here.

About ENGIE New Ventures

ENGIE New Ventures (ENV) is the corporate venture arm of ENGIE, the global energy and services provider. ENGIE is committed to leading the energy revolution, moving towards a more decarbonized, decentralized and digitized world. ENV is a €170 million fund focused on making minority investments in high-performing startups. ENV has deployed €75 million of capital across 19 investments. Portfolio companies include: Advanced Microgrid Solutions, Airware, Gogoro, Kiwi Power, Heliatek, StreetLight Data, Sigfox, and HomeBiogas. Its offices are located in Paris and San Francisco. For more information, please visit: www.engieventures.com.

About ENGIE

We are a global energy and services group, focused on three core activities: low-carbon power generation, mainly based on natural gas and renewable energy, global networks and customer solutions. Driven by our ambition to contribute to a harmonious progress, we take up major global challenges such as the fight against global warming, access to energy to all, or mobility, and offer our residential customers, businesses and communities energy production solutions and services that reconcile individual and collective interests. Our integrated – low-carbon, high-performing and sustainable – offers are based on digital technologies. Beyond energy, they facilitate the development of new uses and promote new ways of living and working. Our ambition is conveyed by each of our 150,000 employees in 70 countries. Together with our customers and partners, they form a community of imaginative builders who invent and build today solutions for tomorrow.2017 turnover: 65 billion Euros. Listed in Paris and Brussels (ENGI), the Group is represented in the main financial (CAC 40, BEL 20, Euro STOXX 50, STOXX Europe 600, MSCI Europe, Euronext 100, FTSE Eurotop 100, Euro STOXX Utilities, STOXX Europe 600 Utilities) and extra-financial indices (DJSI World, DJSI Europe and Euronext Vigeo Eiris – World 120, Eurozone 120, Europe 120, France 20, CAC 40 Governance). To learn more : www.engie.com

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SOURCE: ENGIE