About

Biowaste comprises 50-70% of total Municipal Solid Waste and its untreated disposal poses significant risks to the environment, including over 3.3 Gt of carbon emissions annually. Population growth and increasing consumption patterns are bound to intensify biowaste generation. In response, EU regulations and policy for a cleaner and more competitive Europe, including their national adaptations, promote the diversion of biodegradable waste from landfill towards a circular economy framework. Composting is a natural method for converting biowaste to nutrient-rich soil amendment, thus providing a sustainable path of organic matter recycling. Nevertheless, existing composting solutions typically focus on high capital cost central facilities which incur additional management, transportation, and operation costs and require time to build. Therefore, our optimistic biowaste reduction goals will be unattainable unless we adopt decentralized processes that target large biowaste producers like hotels, hospitals, and universities. Turning this global challenge into an opportunity, INCOTECH specializes in designing and developing innovative decentralised biowaste valorisation solutions that are commercially available off-the-shelf.

Solution & Product

Mechanical Composting Units (or municipal composing units) bridge the gap between household and centralized composting in the sense that (a) they can be installed where biowaste is produced, (b) have few limitations in the incoming source-separated biowaste, (c) process biowaste on-site with little supervision, and (d) produce high quality compost which can optionally be used on-site. These composting units constitute ideal infrastructure for large biowaste producers, either private (hotels and other hospitality services) or public (small settlements, parks, hospitals, etc.), and provide a sustainable alternative biowaste management option. Mechanical Composting Units are the core product of INCOTECH, with 5 models currently being commercially available off-the-shelf. Depending on model capacity, annual biowaste input ranges between 20 and 225 tons and annual compost production ranges between 10 and 120 tons. Complementary equipment includes bin-lifters, weighting systems, and other engineering solutions aiming to support pay-as-you-throw schemes and ensure safety and traceability.

Innovation & Scalability

INCOTECH has introduced the innovation of Solar Mechanical Composing (SMEC) which uses direct solar energy to support the biological process of composting, thus keeping energy and bulking agent requirements to a minimum and remaining environmentally friendly. Furthermore, INCOTECH aims to produce the first energy-autonomous models by 2022. Considering the targeted market segment (the Mediterranean hospitality sector), these innovations will increase our competitive advantage and drive our sales to render our products part of the standard infrastructure for biowaste management and reclamation. At the national scale, the adaptation of 2018/851/EC updates the targets for biowaste reduction and introduces financial incentives to private entities for on-site biowaste management, thus creating new business opportunities for waste producers and managers. INCOTECH has gained significant advantage by establishing itself in the local market of biowaste processing early on. Several international markets have already adopted pay-as-you-throw and decentralized composting solutions. INCOTECH is tapping these markets under two models: (a) establishing a strong network of distributors among the leaders of waste management infrastructure providers, to resell our commercial products, and (b) licensing manufacturing where shipping is unsustainable, including outsourcing manufacturing. Both models allow INCOTECH to increase international market penetration, drive sales and increase revenues.

Traction & achievements

After rigorous testing, the first SMEC composting units received a CE conformity marking in 2018 and the first models were manufactured in Greece. Apart from private sales, since 2018 INCOTECH has successfully completed public contracts of over 0.5 M€ in Greece and Cyprus for the supply and installation of over 10 SMEC units, including supporting infrastructure for pay-as-you-throw municipal solid waste management schemes. While the total number of composting unit currently installed in Greece is unknow, we assess that INCOTECH has already cover a significant share of the existing market in terms of both units and installed capacity, especially for public entity clients. Following up on concluded contracts, we are currently negotiating annual service and support contracts with our clients. Furthermore, INCOTECH has secured public and private contracts worth over another 0.5 M€, scheduled to be delivered within 2021.

Team & Why Us

Leonidas Drikos, Naval Architect and Mechanical Engineer with an MSc in Applied Economics & Finance, is an expert in integrated mechanical engineering solutions, robotics, and automation. As co-founder of the cooperating company GLAFCOS MARINE LTD (glafcos-marine.com), Leonidas Drikos has participated in several national and EU-funded research and development projects pertaining to mechanical engineering research and innovation in automation and robotics. INCOTECH draws additional knowhow and on-site support from a team of freelance engineers, scientists, and technicians with extensive experience in the field of waste management and composting, as well as the integration of biowaste into the foundations of these processes. INCOTECH has gained additional experience from existing composting unit installations and day-to-day communication with existing and potential clients, and constantly updates software and hardware based on their needs. By maintaining design and manufacturing in Greece, INCOTECH not only provides excellent support to local customers, but also constantly builds knowhow to stay on top of the market.

Funding Needs

So far, INCOTECH has been exclusively self-funded. To sustain existing operations, over the next 5 years, INCOTECH will require additional funding for creating 5 permanent jobs (engineers, technicians, and sales representatives), outsourcing part of the manufacturing (customized parts), office space, publicity, participation in trade fairs, as well as research and development. We also foresee costs for filing own patents and licensing patents owned by other parties. On top of these expenses, due to the significant cost of the produced machinery and the long repayment period from the public sector, INCOTECH has high requirements for working capital. Based on these requirements, to sustain existing operations INCOTECH’s funding needs for the next 5 years are estimated at 3.0 M€. During the same period, INCOTECH will also require 5.0 M€ to bring new composting machinery (currently at TRL 4) to the market, and 7.0 M€ to industrialize the entire production line.