Biofuel company Green Solution.Ph recently won the Shell LiveWIRE 2024 Final Pitch Day that took place on October 10 at Dusit Thani Manila, winning P1 million in equity-free funding.
The competition was held by Shell LiveWIRE, the flagship accelerator program of major oil & gas company Shell. Operating in 20 countries, LiveWIRE assists thousands of individuals in gaining the knowledge, skills, networks, and resources necessary to launch and expand their businesses, also helping strengthen local economies by fostering entrepreneurship, innovation, and meaningful employment.
This year’s Shell LIVEWIRE program opened earlier this year, with applications accepted as early as May. Now in its fifth year in the Philippines, the 2024 program, conducted in partnership with accelerator and startup ecosystem builder TechShake / IGNITE, focused on supporting startups and entrepreneurs in the energy sector.
Green Solution.Ph is a Bacolod-based startup that aims to establish a biofuel production facility in the country, creating the first-ever biofuel company that will transform the energy market by providing a renewable alternative to fossil fuels.
Partnering with the local government unit (LGU), Green Solution.Ph accepts various community waste types, including biowaste, medical waste, and plastics. Using a Materials Recovery Facility, they identify recyclable materials and feed the rest into the pyrolysis chamber to convert it into biodiesel. The biodiesel is then used to fuel generators for electricity production or sold to consumers like farmers, fishers, public utility vehicles (PUJ), industries, and aviation.
“The main problem of the country is electricity and landfill waste, not knowing how to convert it into waste to energy,” said Green Solution.Ph CEO Ian Fred Solas. “That’s why we partner with LGUs, eliminating the piling of waste in the landfill, providing a low-cost biofuel, and limiting the presence of all the plastic waste.”
Aside from Green Solution.Ph, the competition also included GAIA Builders & Trading Corporation and Saltric.
GAIA Builders focuses on improving building energy efficiency by managing thermal performance through passive cooling solutions. Their two flagship services are: (1) Thermal Building Performance Audit, which quantifies heat loads that contribute to a building’s cooling demands, and (2) CoolRoof Program, a geo-engineering passive cooling strategy applied to roof surfaces to block solar heat radiation, minimizing heat transfer indoors. Since solar heat loads account for over 50% of energy losses in buildings, the CoolRoof technology reduces dependence on mechanical cooling, cutting energy use by up to 60%.
Saltric manufactures hydroelectric turbines with a mission to make hydroelectric power the primary baseload electricity source. Their key product, the Marissa Turbine, is a vertical-axis hydroelectric turbine designed to harness energy from ocean tides and river streams, particularly for off-grid communities. The turbine offers significant benefits, including carbon reduction through zero-emission power generation, affordability compared to fossil fuel power plants, and sustainability, using 100% recyclable materials.
Keynote speaker New Energy Nexus Philippine Country Director Brenda Valerio points out Shell LiveWIRE’s corporate-startup collaboration is groundbreaking because it not only supports startups but also fosters innovation within Shell by working closely with them. “Corporate-startup collaboration is what makes Shell LiveWIRE so revolutionary. By opening their platform, Shell not only supports startups but also drives internal innovation by working closely with them. This approach fosters knowledge sharing and strengthens collaboration with other stakeholders. Ultimately, startups must remain at the heart of the ecosystem,” Valerio said.
“We have already supported 75 startups and provided Php15 million in funding,” said Pilipinas Shell President & CEO Lorelie Quiambao Osial. “I do hope this will encourage everyone to inspire people and ignite creativity; and if you could spark this in others, you could join Shell as we power progress together with the Filipino.”