What ecomates does

ecomates (legal entity: wastemates GmbH, registered Munich HRB 299763) is a Munich-based German hardware startup founded in 2020 that develops and intends to commercialize the RENUZEROS line of compact micro-biogas plants aimed at the hospitality industry. The company's proprietary Smart-Degrader technology uses microorganisms to convert food waste and organic residues into biogas (for on-site hot water and heating support) and nutrient-rich, hygienized fertilizer through automated shredding, fermentation, and gas processing. Two product configurations are offered: the RENU40 (up to 40 kg/day capacity, ~15 MWh/a energy output, 4.7 tCO2e/year avoided) and the RENU100 (up to 100 kg/day, ~34 MWh/a, 12 tCO2e/year avoided), each roughly the size of a small room (~3m x 2m x 2m or 3m x 2.5m x 2m) and designed for a ~20-year operational lifespan.

The company operates a direct sales model targeting hotels, restaurants, canteens, gastropubs, and large commercial kitchens generating 40–100 kg of organic waste daily. Interested establishments apply via an online form, complete a questionnaire, and are evaluated for the co-development pilot phase planned for end-2025 / Q1 2026 within a ~200km radius of Munich, with serial production scheduled for early 2027. Revenue is expected to come from hardware sales of RENUZEROS units plus recurring installation, staff training, and maintenance services structured as multi-year contracts; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is set per installation following a feasibility study. The team comprises 10 people, including four co-founders (Cosima Aeschbach and Eric Bochert as Co-CEOs, Valentin Grabmaier as CTO, and David Daberto as CSO), and has been funded exclusively through non-dilutive grants and competition prizes (EXIST-Gründungsstipendium, Strascheg Award, Make Tomorrow New), with no disclosed venture or growth equity investment to date. R&D and demonstration partnerships are maintained with Hochschule München (since 2022) and TUM FACIT in Freising (prototype facility since autumn 2025), and the company has earned multiple innovation awards (Biomimicry Global Design Challenge semi-finalist 2020, EXIST fellowship 2023, International Strascheg Award 2nd place 2023).

Name

ecomates

Legal name

wastemates GmbH

Website

https://eco-mates.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ecomates is a Munich-based hardware startup developing the RENUZEROS line of compact micro-biogas plants, which convert food waste into biogas and fertilizer on-site for hotels, restaurants, and canteens. The company is pre-commercial, with pilot installations planned for 2026 and serial production targeted for early 2027.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biogas Systems / Waste-to-Energy Equipment

akta.pro primary industry

Anaerobic Digestion (AD) & Biogas/RNG Production (Organics Feedstocks) (BPALAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Anaerobic Digestion (Wet/Dry AD) & Biogas Production (EUAIAEAD), Digestate Processing, Nutrient Recovery & Fertilizer Products (Struvite, Ammonia, Compost) (EUAAAEAL)

Keywords

• Micro-biogas systems
• Food waste valorization
• Hospitality waste management
• Decentralized biogas plants
• On-site biogas conversion

Headquarters

HQ city

Neuried

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. RENUZEROS Biogas System Sales: Sale of compact micro-biogas plants (RENU40 and RENU100 models) to hospitality businesses. Hardware sales model with associated installation, commissioning, and ongoing maintenance services.
2. Maintenance and Support Services: Ongoing support and regular maintenance services including installation, staff training, and maintenance appointments. Particularly responsive on-site support during pilot phase.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ecomates sells the RENUZEROS, a compact micro-biogas plant for the hospitality industry that converts food waste and organic residues on-site into biogas for hot water and heating, plus nutrient-rich fertilizer. Available in two models (RENU40 up to 40 kg/day, RENU100 up to 100 kg/day), the system uses proprietary Smart-Degrader microorganism technology with fully automated shredding, fermentation, gas processing, and digital monitoring.

Product overview

ecomates offers the RENUZEROS micro-biogas plant system, a compact biogas solution for the hospitality industry. The product line consists of two models: RENU40 (up to 40 kg/day processing capacity) and RENU100 (up to 100 kg/day). Both models convert food waste and organic residues into biogas for hot water and heating support, as well as nutrient-rich fertilizer. The system features fully automated waste processing, space-saving design, and digital monitoring, enabling hospitality businesses to generate their own sustainable energy on-site while reducing disposal costs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RENUZEROS: Micro-biogas plant for the hospitality industry that converts food waste and biowaste into biogas and fertilizer on-site. Available in two models: RENU40 (up to 40 kg/day) and RENU100 (up to 100 kg/day). The acronym stands for 'REststoffe NUtzen für ZERO Emissionen' (Utilizing residual materials for Zero Emissions).
• Smart-Degrader

Products and services

• RENUZEROS RENU40 Compact micro-biogas plant model processing up to 40 kg/day of organic food waste, producing up to 15 MWh/a of biogas (~1.7 kW power) and up to 1,200 liters/month of hygienized fertilizer, with 4.7 tCO2e/year avoided. Dimensions 3m x 2m x 2m, designed for smaller hospitality operations within the target German hospitality market.
• RENUZEROS RENU100 Compact micro-biogas plant model processing up to 100 kg/day of organic food waste, producing up to 34 MWh/a of biogas (~3.9 kW power) and up to 3,000 liters/month of hygienized fertilizer, with 12 tCO2e/year avoided. Dimensions 3m x 2.5m x 3m, designed for high-volume hospitality operations within the target German hospitality market.
• RENUZEROS Installation, Maintenance and Support Services Ongoing service offering bundled with RENUZEROS hardware sales: installation by certified installation partners, hands-on commissioning, staff training, and responsive on-site maintenance — particularly emphasized during the pilot phase for hospitality customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to €18,000 annual savings on disposal costs
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2022Accepted into SCE Accelerator program providing startup certification and extensive support services. Participation in Strascheg Award competitions in 2022 and 2023 (2nd place).
• Hochschule München (FK03 and Fakultät 09)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Ongoing project collaborations with Faculty FK03 (Mechanical Engineering) since winter semester 2022 and Faculty 09 (Business Administration) since summer semester 2024. Students contribute to interdisciplinary projects.
• TUM FACIT FreisingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst full-size prototype installed at TUM FACIT facility in Freising in autumn 2025. Location available for product demonstrations and testing.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kompogas (Hitachi Zosen Inova): Kompogas offers compact, modular anaerobic digestion plants for organic waste. Most directly comparable to ecomates because it commercializes containerised/decentralised AD at smaller scales rather than only large municipal biogas plants.
• HomeBiogas: HomeBiogas sells small-scale household biogas systems that convert kitchen food waste into cooking gas and fertilizer. Comparable in technology approach (micro-scale AD, on-site conversion) although it targets households rather than hospitality.
• Power Knot: Power Knot provides commercial food waste digesters (LFC biodigester line) for hotels, restaurants, hospitals and canteens. Directly comparable on customer (hospitality/commercial kitchens) and product (compact on-site food-waste-to-energy).
• Tidy Planet: Tidy Planet designs and supplies food waste digesters (e.g., Rocket Composter, Smart Composter) for commercial kitchens and hospitality operators in the UK/EU. Comparable on target vertical and on-site, small-footprint food-waste processing hardware.
• ORCA Aerobic Digesters (BioHiTech / Eco-Safe): ORCA-style commercial food-waste digesters are deployed in hotels, restaurants and commercial kitchens to process organic waste on-site. Directly comparable customer and use case to ecomates, though based on aerobic rather than anaerobic digestion.

Broad incumbents

• Weltec Biopower: Weltec Biopower builds modular containerised biogas plants from agricultural and food-industry waste. Comparable modular/container approach but serves larger industrial customers, not hospitality.
• BioConstruct: BioConstruct builds turnkey biogas plants across Germany and Europe for agricultural, industrial and municipal feedstocks. Broad incumbent offering overlap in AD technology, but at industrial rather than hospitality scale.
• EnviTec Biogas: EnviTec Biogas is a publicly listed German operator and builder of large-scale agricultural and industrial biogas plants. Broad incumbent in the same anaerobic digestion space but at much larger scale and different unit economics than ecomates' hospitality micro-plants.
• Agraferm Technologies: Agraferm Technologies is a German specialist in anaerobic digestion plant engineering and construction. Broad incumbent with overlapping AD/biogas technology expertise, but targeting industrial/agricultural sites rather than hospitality.
• Viessmann (foodservice / green energy solutions): Viessmann is a major German HVAC and hot-water heating incumbent. While not a digester, it competes for the same hospitality capex budget around hot-water decarbonization and renewable-heat adoption, and could integrate or partner around biogas-fed heating.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eco-mates
• Instagraminstagram.com/ecomates.collective

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 ecomates