THOHOYANDOU - The University of Venda (UNIVEN), in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), hosted its first-ever hackathon titled “From Waste to Energy: Biogas Student Hackathon” on 21-23 July 2023. The event offered a platform for student innovators and entrepreneurs to come up with solutions for micro biogas digesters in South Africa.

The hackathon is part of the project “Promoting organic waste-to-energy and other low-carbon technologies in small, medium and micro-scale enterprises (SMMEs) scale: Accelerating biogas market development”. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in collaboration with South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and other entities. UNIVEN, through Prof. David Tinarwo, has previously been contracted on the Biogas project to enhance awareness and capacity building through skills development, mainly promoting youth-led development of micro digesters in the Limpopo province.

The hackathon convened 40 students from the Limpopo Province to present their research projects and ideate innovative solutions for biogas usage. During the three days, students brainstormed solutions in three areas: biogas production, storage and utilization. Additionally, event facilitators and mentors provided three masterclasses on (a) Introduction to Biogas Basics; (b) Introduction to entrepreneurship (business model canvas) and (c) Commercializing and funding (including solutions pricing and fundraising, pitch deck preparation and pitch presentation).

Some of the judges and observers included the Southern African Biogas Association (SABIA), Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), Empire Partner Foundation (EPF), and the African Chamber of Regenerative Networks (ACORN).

Students were divided into six groups – Be Versatile, Bio Gen, Green Energy Mavericks, Eco Gas Warriors, Biogas Solutions and LIMDEV – presenting their pitches for potential solutions to the biogas value chain in the end of the hackathon. Each team had a different approach to increase the efficiency and productivity of biogas plants, either by improving the quality of the feedstock, the logistics or the material used for micro digesters. The judges selected Green Energy Mavericks as the team with the most viable ‘hack’ from waste to energy. The first and second runners-up were Bio Gen and LIMDEV. The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) offered to take all six groups through a virtual incubation process from ideation to biogas entrepreneurs.

TIA has extensive expertise in the entrepreneurship and job creation through clean technology innovation in South Africa as the executing entity of the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme. GCIP is a global UNIDO-GEF programme to accelerate the development and deployment of cleantech solutions from start-ups and SMEs in 16+ partner countries. GCIP South Africa has been part of the GCIP global network since 2014.

During the closing ceremony, the local Chief Thovhele Gole Mphaphuli said, “I feel honored to be part of this function, where young students are celebrating the fruits of their innovative work over the past two days, especially in view of the loadshedding challenges we are facing at present.” Prof. Joseph Francis added, “Today, as we celebrate the successful culmination of this hackathon, we must recognize its profound significance in the face of the spiraling youth unemployment crisis, especially for university graduates. By empowering our students to explore cutting-edge solutions in waste-to-energy technologies, we have enhanced their attributes and competitiveness in the job market, including creating jobs for others, equipping them to face real-world challenges head-on.”

For more information, please contact:

Alois Mhlanga

Chief

Climate Technologies Innovation Unit (CTI)

Division of Decarbonization and Sustainable Energy (DSE)

Email: a.mhlanga@unido.org