Greentech Innovators AS Turning Food Waste to Protein

The company that wants to stop global warming

Greentech Innovators AS has a straightforward motto: “Waste is valuable”. Established in 2018, the company has a dedicated team with a scientific outlook; they seek to harness the best out of the waste. This dedication has helped them create a procedure for waste food management that minimizes the production of greenhouse gases by transforming the food waste into valuable protein and omega-3 products that can be used as substitutes for aquatic feed.

Statistically, about 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste is produced annually globally. This accounts for significant greenhouse gas emissions like methane which is 35 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. These daunting numbers inspired the company to take a stand against food waste and find solutions that can be scalable.

Greentech Innovators AS aims to help solve one of the biggest environmental problems, global warming. This very well-known global issue is responsible for erratic climate changes, unusual natural calamities, and disruptions in aquaculture. Since its inception, the company has spent time searching for viable solutions to solve these issues.

Food waste is a source of greenhouse gases, and by extension, global warming. Food waste on landfills, which is a common practice, is responsible for 11% of the total methane production. As Greentech Innovators AS tackles this issue, they aim to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and upcycle the same food waste to produce feed and organic fertilizer

Finding a solution with soy

Their success in creating a subsdtitue for soy protein from these food scraps is a testament to the fact that when research is done right, the solution for any problem – global or national- can be found. Greentech Innovators AS’ initial years were dedicated to finding this very solution; a soy protein substitute made from food scraps that will stop soy production — which is sown on lands that were previously rainforests.

The award-winning team that makes it possible

The team, led by Ingmar Høgøy, the CEO and the Co-founder, Svetlana Lyngstad, the project manager, and Antonio Pagarete, R&D manager, have received various awards and honors for their work. They were recently awarded the “Best circular Solution Award of 2020” by Innovation Norway. They’ve also been recognized by Norges Vel (The Royal Norwegian Society for Development) for creating a new protein solution and have recently ranked in the top 50 most admired companies in the world.

The team is dedicated to making a global difference and includes some of the best Norwegian scientists. They contribute their experience and knowledge to develop simple, implementable solutions for major global catastrophes. With Ingmar Høgøy’s expertise in aquaculture and fisheries, Svetlana Lyngstad’s education in environmental redevelopment, and Antonio Pagarete’s experience as a microbiologist, the company’s future is in the hands of modern talent.

Experimenting their way to success

Following their leaders, the team is currently experimenting on finding biotechnological solutions for converting food waste from landfills to sustainable protein sources. This is a requirement that all EU countries will soon face due to the new EU regulations about food waste incineration, which will be implemented in 2023. This procedure aims to have twofold advantages. Firstly, this will make a vast impact on the number of landfills in the countries, and secondly, it will significantly cut down on the production of methane.

With a versatile team, they have made it a habit to study cases from several perspectives. They partner with the local waste management company, BIR, to scale up their solution so that it can soon be implemented all over Norway.

Global Presence

With their growing national and international contracts, they aim to solve two major global challenges: reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing protein food production on an international level. While Greentech Innovators As had trouble securing funding, in the beginning, the company has recently secured approved funding from Innovation Norway, Norwegian Research Council, and Climate kIC – the EU program.

In the past three years, they have amassed international partnerships and investors. The results of these partnerships will be visible soon as they join hands with global waste management companies to help countries solve the same problem Norway was once facing. Their short-term goal is to help the local population in the Bergen area by reducing their carbon dioxide production. With about 350,000 citizens, this locale produces among the largest volumes of carbon dioxide from food incineration.

Going global, while challenging, their solutions will likely change the future of global warming. Food wastes, which are usually ignored, can finally find a good cause. As the problems faced due to climate change rise, Greentech Innovators AS remains one of the leading companies for solutions that can quickly be adopted regardless of the size of population and area of implementation.