What Lifecycle Renewables does

Lifecycle Renewables is a vertically integrated renewable energy company founded in 2008 in Marblehead, Massachusetts, by Rory Gaunt. The company collects used cooking oil from restaurants, food service operators, and food manufacturers across the Eastern seaboard, refines it at its Charlestown and Tewksbury (Massachusetts) and Philadelphia production facilities, and sells the resulting renewable fuels - LR100 renewable diesel and Truburn renewable heating oil - back to commercial, institutional, and municipal buyers in the same regions. Its 5 million gallon-per-year Charlestown refinery is described as one of the only vertically integrated renewable energy facilities in Massachusetts, and a dedicated Philadelphia arrangement with Vicinity Energy processes more than 1 million gallons of waste restaurant oil per year into heating fuel.

The business operates a reverse-revenue model on the supply side (paying restaurants for used cooking oil and providing free grease trap cleaning and IoT-enabled collection via the TruView in-tank sensor and cloud-based logistics platform) and generates the majority of its fuel revenue on the demand side from enterprise and institutional buyers. Named anchor customers include Whole Foods Market (0.5 MW on-site CHP system at its Everett, MA commissary), Harvard University, Northeastern University, the City of Philadelphia, High Liner Foods, Gorton's of Gloucester, InterContinental Boston, and The Lenox Hotel. Distribution is direct via a fleet of vacuum-operated service trucks and direct B2B fuel sales, with fleet transportation enabled through a partnership with Optimus Technologies. The company is privately held, founder/family-controlled, with 11-50 employees, and received an investment from WindSail Capital Group in May 2017.

Name

Lifecycle Renewables

Legal name

Lifecycle Renewables, Inc.

Website

https://lifecyclerenewables.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lifecycle Renewables is a vertically integrated renewable energy company that collects used cooking oil from Eastern-seaboard restaurants and converts it into LR100 renewable diesel and Truburn heating oil for commercial, institutional, and municipal buyers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Renewable Fuels and Used Cooking Oil Recycling Services

NAICS

Biomass Electric Power Generation (221117), Steam and Air-Conditioning Supply (221330)

SIC

Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991), Fats & Oils (2070)

akta.pro primary industry

Biofuels & Renewable Fuels Switching (Biomethane/RNG, Bio-oils, Sustainable Biomass) (EUABAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Biomass CHP & Cogeneration Plants (Industrial & Utility) (EUAAAGAA)

Keywords

• Renewable diesel fuel
• Used cooking oil recycling
• Renewable heating oil
• Grease trap services
• Waste oil collection

Headquarters

HQ city

Marblehead

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Waste Vegetable Oil Collection and Payment to Restaurants: Lifecycle pays restaurants for their used cooking oil. Waste vegetable oil is collected free of charge (restaurants receive payment), processed into LR100 renewable diesel or Truburn heating oil, and sold to commercial buyers (office buildings, colleges, hospitals, municipalities). The company monetizes the collected feedstock by converting it into higher-value renewable fuel products sold into commercial heating and energy markets.
2. Renewable Diesel (LR100) and Heating Oil (Truburn) Sales: LR100 renewable diesel is sold as a low-cost substitute for traditional diesel fuel and No. 2 heating oil. Truburn is sold as carbon-neutral renewable heating oil for commercial boilers. Revenue is generated from volume-based fuel sales to commercial, institutional, and municipal buyers.
3. Grease Trap Cleaning and Maintenance Services: Professional grease trap cleaning and pumping services for food service operators, including inside grease traps (IGT) and outside grease traps (OGT). Emergency service (EMG) available at customer request with price calculated by specific service requirements. Also includes drain cleaning (DC) services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lifecycle Renewables operates a vertically integrated renewable energy platform that collects used cooking oil from restaurants and food service operators across the Eastern seaboard, processes it at refineries in Charlestown, MA and Tewksbury, MA into renewable fuels (Truburn heating oil and LR100 renewable diesel), and distributes those fuels back to commercial, institutional, and municipal heat and energy buyers in the same communities. The company also provides grease trap cleaning, predictive collection technology (TruView sensors), and on-site combined heat and power systems.

Product overview

Lifecycle Renewables operates a vertically integrated renewable energy platform that collects used cooking oil from restaurants, processes it into renewable fuels, and distributes those fuels back to heat local communities. The core offering consists of Truburn (renewable heating oil) and LR100 (renewable diesel fuel), supplemented by technology-enabled services including TruView smart sensor monitoring, used cooking oil collection, grease trap cleaning, and on-site renewable energy systems for commercial customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Truburn: Carbon neutral renewable heating oil produced from recycled used cooking oil for office buildings, colleges, hospitals, and similar facilities.
• LR100
• TruView

Products and services

• Truburn Truburn is a 100% renewable heating oil produced from recycled used cooking oil collected from restaurants. It is sold to office buildings, colleges, hospitals, hotels, and other commercial and municipal facilities as a carbon-neutral replacement for conventional No. 2 heating oil, reducing carbon emissions by up to 86% compared to fossil fuels.
• LR100 Renewable Diesel LR100 is a proprietary renewable diesel fuel derived from a hyper-refining process applied to waste vegetable oil. It has approximately 95% of the energy content of conventional diesel, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 80% versus diesel, and is approved for on-site power generation, commercial heating oil, and (via Optimus Technologies engine conversion) fleet transportation use.
• Used Cooking Oil Collection Services Vacuum-truck collection of used cooking oil from restaurants and food service operators across the Eastern seaboard (Newport RI to Bangor ME and Albany NY, plus Metro Philadelphia). Lifecycle provides free oil receptacles and pays the restaurant for the oil; a cloud-based predictive logistics system schedules pickups automatically.
• Grease Trap Cleaning Services Professional grease trap cleaning, pumping, and drain cleaning services for restaurants and food service operators, including inside grease traps (IGT) and outside grease traps (OGT), with emergency response service (EMG) available. Performed by professional technicians using vacuum-operated service trucks.
• On-Site Renewable Energy Systems Lifecycle Renewables operates combined heat and power (CHP) systems that run on LR100 renewable diesel to generate electricity and heat for commercial and institutional facilities, providing continuous power with backup redundancy. Reference installation is the 0.5 MW system at Whole Foods Market's Everett, MA commissary kitchen.
• TruView In-Tank Sensor Technology TruView is a smart in-tank sensor system deployed at restaurant grease tanks that monitors oil levels in real time and sends automated alerts when service is needed, enabling predictive collection scheduling and eliminating manual tank checks or overflow risk.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by over 80% compared to conventional diesel or heating oil
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vicinity EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2022Lifecycle Renewables and Vicinity Energy entered into a partnership to supply LR100 renewable fuel to Vicinity's Philadelphia operations, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and cutting carbon emissions by 12,200 tons per year (equivalent to removing 2,650 cars). The partnership provides Vicinity access to Lifecycle's LR100 biogenic fuel for steam, hot water, and chilled water production, supporting Vicinity's goal of net-zero carbon by 2050. The agreement turns more than 1 million gallons of waste restaurant oil into heating fuel annually in Philadelphia.
• Northeastern UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2016Lifecycle Renewables helped Northeastern University make the most of their waste kitchen grease as part of the university's sustainable dining program.
• Optimus TechnologiescoreTechnology or Integration · 1 August 2014Optimus Technologies and Lifecycle Renewables partnered to enable trucking fleets to use LR100 renewable diesel. Optimus received U.S. EPA approval for its advanced biofuel conversion solution for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, with LR100 becoming the first pure biofuel to achieve compliance. The partnership enables up to 25% fuel cost reduction and 80% GHG reduction for fleets.
• The Lenox HotelminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2013The Lenox Hotel in Boston recycles used cooking oil with Lifecycle Renewables as part of a broader sustainability program that includes efficiency measures and EV charging stations.
• Whole Foods MarketcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2012Lifecycle Renewables commissioned a 0.5 MW renewable energy system at Whole Foods Market's 70,000 sq ft commissary kitchen facility in Everett, MA. The system runs on LR100 renewable diesel produced from Whole Foods' own waste cooking oil, supplying virtually all of the kitchen's electricity needs (over 2 million kWh/year). This was the first system of its kind in the US. The partnership supports Whole Foods Market's zero-waste goals.
• InterContinental BostonminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2012InterContinental Boston, a 4-diamond AAA rated hotel, has been a customer of Lifecycle Renewables since 2010 for waste vegetable oil collection and grease trap services. The hotel's green team toured Lifecycle's Charlestown refinery in August 2012.
• Wentworth Institute of TechnologyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2012Lifecycle Renewables partnered with Wentworth Institute of Technology for sustainability. Lifecycle is contracted to recover excess waste vegetable oil from WIT's campus food service operations, paying WIT for the oil which funds educational programs surrounding the biodiesel lab. A win-win partnership supporting WIT students.
• Gorton's of GloucesterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2012Lifecycle Renewables was awarded a contract to recover and reuse Gorton's of Gloucester's waste vegetable oil. The partnership creates the best environmental and economic value from Gorton's waste streams.
• High Liner FoodscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009High Liner Foods, the world's leading value-added seafood producer, awarded Lifecycle Renewables a multi-year agreement to recover and reuse all waste vegetable oil from their US plants. Lifecycle was featured as a key sustainability partner in High Liner Foods' 2009 Annual Report.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• Vicinity Energy: Largest U.S. district energy provider and Lifecycle's largest disclosed fuel offtake customer in Philadelphia; comparable decarbonization narrative and overlapping institutional buyer persona.

Broad incumbents

• Clean Energy Fuels: Provider of renewable natural gas and alternative transportation fuels to fleets; overlapping fleet-fuel customer base and decarbonization value proposition to LR100's truck customers.
• Baker Commodities: Large West Coast–focused renderer of used cooking oil and animal by-products into tallow and yellow grease feedstocks for biodiesel and renewable diesel; competes for the same waste-oil supply pool.
• Neste: Global leader in renewable diesel (Neste MY) produced from waste and residues; competes for the same institutional fuel buyers and feedstock pool that Lifecycle addresses at much smaller scale.
• World Energy: Large biodiesel and renewable diesel producer with established supply relationships to fleets and heating-oil distributors on the East Coast; competes for the same commercial/institutional fuel accounts.
• Darling Ingredients (DAR PRO Solutions): Global renderer and producer of renewable diesel (Diamond Green Diesel joint venture with Valero); directly competes for used cooking oil feedstock and is the dominant scaled player in the UCO-to-renewable-fuel value chain.

Direct peers

• Restaurant Technologies: Provider of used cooking oil collection, grease management, and kitchen services to restaurant chains; comparable customer profile, route-based service model, and recurring service revenue streams.
• Mahoney Environmental: Direct competitor in used cooking oil collection and grease trap services for restaurants across the U.S., with overlapping service territories and similar reverse-payment UCO economics. Highly comparable GTM and customer base.
• Wind River Environmental: Provider of grease trap cleaning, wastewater, and environmental services to restaurants and food service operators across the Eastern U.S.; overlapping service lines and customer base (and the former employer of Lifecycle's COO).

Emerging players

• Optimus Technologies: Strategic partner of Lifecycle for converting medium- and heavy-duty trucks to run on LR100; complementary technology provider in the same renewable-fuel-for-fleets value chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lifecycle-renewables-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lifecycle Renewables