Meet the Founder of BioFactory, Eoin Sharkey: “here we are with a product that farmers really want”
Meet Eoin Sharkey, Founder of BioFactory
1. Describe your startup in two sentences?
BioFactory is a design and engineering business, reinventing Anaerobic Digestion (AD) for dairy farmers, by building cost effective slurry-to-energy solutions for small and medium scale farms. We reduce farm energy and operating costs whilst decrease greenhouse gas emissions from existing slurry handling practices.
2. What gave you the inspiration?
Initially BioFactory had been established to develop a cost effective, modular toilet and waste processing system for use in low-income communities in sub-Saharan Africa. I have a background in Kenya and in engineering solutions for WASH infrastructure, and thought a product based solution would be a great way to improve sanitation infrastructure at scale. This design utilised AD as a core treatment process, as I was fascinated by the benefits of the technology in other applications, and its ability to generate value for waste organic material. Whilst developing this product, we started working with a local dairy for feedstock material and found that our low cost miniature digester was outperforming the industry standard for cow slurry. During one of our visits to the farm, we were talking to the farmer about what we were doing and the use of AD in farming. At this point Jon (BioFactory CCO) suggested we stick 50 of our 1m3 tanks next to their slurry pit and process their slurry. Now it wasn’t that simple, but COVID forced us to pivot, and after a feasibility study, two full scale prototypes and 18 months, here we are with a product that farmers really want.
3. How did you meet?
I met my fellow Directors through Innovate UK’s IUK EDGE business support service and the Set Squared incubator in Bath. Both Clare and Jon were initially advisors to the company, and after knowing them for a while it was clear they had complementary skillsets to mine and that we would make a well rounded management team.
4. What has been your greatest success to date? And your greatest challenge?
Greatest success to date is a tough one - there has been so many! Ha! We’re extremely proud to have been shortlisted for a global award for the Biogas and AD industry earlier this year. Given that we’re still a new company, it was incredible to be shortlisted alongside some of the industry giants and even though we didn’t win the category, we were delighted to have our Company name up on the world stage as one of the top 5 companies in the world developing Micro AD solutions.
The greatest challenge we’ve experienced to date is the stigma around AD in the industry. What we’re doing is new and completely different to other players in the AD space, who all make industrial scale plants. The thinking of traditional AD suppliers is the bigger the plant the better – more power generated and more profit. It’s been a bit of an uphill battle convincing people that a change is coming and micro-AD is where the real impact will be. Since we started BioFactory, we’ve seen a real change of mindset for Micro AD, and we’ve had previously dismissive companies reconnecting and seeing the value of what we’re doing.
5. What kind of impact is your business having and how do you measure it?
Our target is to prevent over 500,000 TCO2e of emissions from UK Dairy farms within 10 years through the application of our current and future products. These enable our customers to affordably reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat local pollution associated with existing slurry management, and allow them to improve resource efficiency on farm to reduce synthetic fertiliser consumption. Over the next 12 months we plan to do a carbon audit and LCA of our solution to fully validate our estimates, that will scale with the number of units we deploy. This audit will allow us to demonstrate and track our environmental impact as we grow.
6. How has Covid affected your business?
The arrival of COVID had quite an impact on BioFactory. Bizarrely however, without it, we wouldn’t have created our Micro AD Farm product! COVID highlighted some high risk areas in our first product, and forced the business to look at alternative uses for our innovative ultra small AD reactor. Because of the Pandemic, and worldwide restrictions on movement, we were unable to deploy our systems to Africa and instead began investing alternative uses. Fast forward 18 months and BioFactory has built a full scale prototype deployed in North Wales and our fully operational demonstrator unit on our farm in Somerset.
7. When you were little what did you want to be when you grew up?
A Maasai warrior! (I was in Kenya a lot as a kid).
8. If you weren’t doing this, what would be your plan B?
I have a few ideas up my sleeve for other businesses – I don’t think I’ll ever get away from the entrepreneurial life!
9. What would you save in a fire?
Assuming my partner and animals are already safe – my guitar!
10. What is your happy track?
Oscar Wilde by The Cat Empire
11. What is your motto?
Small is mighty (I’m not very tall!)
12. What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
I am so excited to complete our first commercial sale - it will be a massive achievement for the company