Japan-headed general trading company ITOCHU Corporation (ITOCHU) has announced that it has invested an undisclosed amount in Impact Bioenergy, Inc., a US-based manufacturer, and distributor of biogas systems.
In the United States, regulations on landfill waste are being tightened for the benefit of environmental protection, and there is a growing awareness of the need to reduce waste.
In California (CA), municipalities are imposing regulations around organic waste disposal and recycling.
With the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022, a bill aimed at expanding subsidies for renewable energy projects, attention is increasingly being focused on solutions that reduce and reuse food waste.
Proprietary equipment design, and manufacturing
Established in 2013, Seattle-based Impact Bioenergy develops, manufactures, and sells small- and medium-sized equipment that generates biogas through anaerobic digestion (AD) of food and other organic waste.
The company has proprietary equipment design, equipment manufacturing technology, and equipment operation know-how, and has accumulated more than 200 000 hours of operating hours of their units in place at university and corporate campuses.
Expand marketing, manufacturing, and expansion
According to ITOCHU, the equipment is small and medium-sized, and easy to install. The biogas produced can be used for electricity and fuel, and the platform also reduces costs related to waste disposal and transportation and draws carbon down from the environment.
ITOCHU expects that demand for Impact Bioenergy’s equipment will increase as regulations on food waste tighten in the United States, and ITOCHU aims to support the expansion of Impact Bioenergy’s marketing and manufacturing systems.
In the medium to long term, the company aims to support overseas expansion by leveraging ITOCHU’s overseas network.
In August 2021, ITOCHU invested in Raven SR Inc. (Raven), a US company that has a technology to produce renewable hydrogen from municipal solid waste (MSW).
ITOCHU is focusing on the energy utilization of waste resources through its investment in Raven and several investments in Energy from Waste (EfW) in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
