The $23m grant is for a three-year project called Hydrothermal Oxidation \u2013 Futureproofing Bioresource Management in the UK and was announced last week. <\/p>\n
UK water regulator Ofwat is funding the grant. The project will be led by private water company Anglian Water Services.<\/p>\n
Other project partners include Severn Trent Water, Northumbrian Water, Cranfield University and AtkinsR\u00e9alis.<\/p>\n
Speaking from the UK, Cetogenix chief executive and co-founder Dr Trevor Stuthridge told the Rotorua Daily Post he was meeting the partnership team after the announcement, \u201cand preparing for the next phase of the project\u201d.<\/p>\n
About two and a half years ago, Anglian Water Services and other UK water companies were \u201cunder pressure to find a solution to putting their organic waste on to farmland\u201d, Stuthridge said.<\/p>\n
A study with consultancy firm AtkinsR\u00e9alis identified Cetogenix as a potential technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey reached out to us saying they\u2019d like to work with us on understanding the technology …\u201d<\/p>\n
Two years ago, Cetogenix received \u00a31.3m of funding with its commercial partners for proof-of-concept work. The results \u201cexceeded the expectations of our water partners\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey submitted another proposal for \u00a310.2m to allow the partnership to take the technology to basically full-scale deployment at one of their sites.\u201d <\/p>\n
Stuthridge said the funding meant the technology, which was \u201cpre-commercial\u201d in New Zealand, now had a commercial pathway.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a game-changer for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cetogenix chief executive and co-founder Dr Trevor Stuthridge.<\/p>\n
The biomethane gas produced could replace natural gas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a big driver in Europe … to avoid their dependency on fossil natural gas from Russia and from the USA.\u201d<\/p>\n
Secondly, the technology recovered nitrogen, phosphorus, green ammonia and phosphate, which replaced synthetic fertilisers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is very timely at the moment because large amounts of the world\u2019s natural gas and fertilisers are coming through the Strait of Hormuz and, with the Iranian-US conflict, those supplies are being cut off.\u201d<\/p>\n
The world generated about 100 billion tonnes of organic waste a year, of which 2% was treated or reused, he said.<\/p>\n
Waste material was a \u201cvast resource\u201d, and the technology supported a circular economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cCircularity means that we can find another purpose for that waste, turn it into high-value products and … close the cycle so that waste is literally not wasted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rotorua cleantech company Cetogenix has secured a $23 million grant in the United Kingdom that could help commercialise and globalise its technology.<\/p>\n
Stuthridge said the company\u2019s major market was Europe and it would \u201clikely\u201d establish a permanent presence in the UK.<\/p>\n
Cetogenix was established in 2022. Its four co-founders had worked together for more than 15 years at Scion.<\/p>\n
It was working on a large agricultural project in South Waikato and was also looking to do trials with Ecogas in Reporoa and Watercare.<\/p>\n
As a New Zealand start-up, \u201cwe\u2019ll probably have to go out to come back in\u201d, Stuthridge said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is our intention to help drive this technology in the New Zealand market, but it\u2019s a very small market, so we will de-risk the technology over here in the UK and Europe … and we\u2019re excited that we can then push forward to redeploy it back into New Zealand when we\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\n