Using anaerobic digestion, Synthica Energy processes massive organic streams into Renewable Natural Gas
Developing world-class anaerobic digestion facilities across the US, Synthica Energy creates a circular economy for waste-free energy production. Utilizing advanced bioengineering technology, the company effectively turns biological waste into Renewable Natural Gas, an alternative resource for companies seeking sustainability.
Founded in 2017, the company has recently launched its first operational site. As Sam Schutte, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, begins: “Our first facility, based in Cincinnati, broke ground in the summer of 2023, and became operational in May of 2025. After an investment round in August of 2023, we have been expanding the company’s portfolio with additional plants in underserved markets – all with an eye towards urban friendly sustainable digestion.”
The primary service delivered by Synthica is the sustainable disposal of waste streams for food and beverage manufacturers. The company utilizes anaerobic digestion as the primary technology to do this.
Mark Weidman, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman, details how the process works: “In order to manage and direct the biological process, which breaks down organic materials into biogas and digestate, we use sealed vessels at controlled temperatures and place them in a zero-oxygen environment. This environment creates the conditions for anaerobic digestion, which produces the necessary biogas. It is then refined into Renewable Natural Gas, or RNG, for injection into gas utility grids.” In this way, not only does the company effectively handle biological waste on behalf of its clients, but it can also generate sustainable fuel alternatives.
Working at the cutting edge of bio-waste processing and biogas production puts Synthica at the forefront of technological advancement. Researching and developing major innovations in this area has allowed the company to begin harnessing the full potential of anaerobic digestion.
The industry has seen several enhancements and improvements over the last decade – all of which allow plants like Synthica to better process specific types of waste materials. These materials are produced in bulk by food and beverage manufacturers, giving Synthica the ideal opportunity to minimize waste and maximize RNG production.
Mr. Schutte discusses how Synthica’s refined technology optimizes all aspects of the production process: “Previously, in our industry, food waste digestion was attempted using common technology that exists at dairy farms, where digesters have been built for decades. These simple technologies underserved the complex nature of food waste and byproduct streams.
“Using specifically tuned technology like ours, the process has become more focused, reliable, and efficient. This has been a major innovation for the industry – we now can develop additional capabilities, such as using anaerobic digestion for clean water production and digestate fertilizers.”
By further expanding its capabilities, Synthica aims to grow its offering and deliver a wider range of sustainable products. As Mr. Schutte mentioned, alongside biogas, anaerobic digestion produces digestate, a water-heavy raw material that has a range of applications.
Mr. Weidman outlines how Synthica can take advantage of this opportunity: “We have already implemented a pre-treatment process in Cincinnati, which cleans the water from the digestate to industrial discharge standards. This process also extracts solids from the digestate that we can then use for composting or other beneficial uses as fertilizer.”
To source the necessary food waste, Synthica partners with a range of local businesses. These partnerships cover a wide range of industries and sectors, as Weidman reveals: “For our Cincinnati facility, we sourced material from meat producers, oleochemical companies, and beverage producers, such as breweries and distilleries. In addition to this, we work with a handful of produce and grocery companies. We anticipate we will service the same type of customers in our new markets.”
These waste products are then delivered to Synthica’s Cincinnati facility, where they are processed and turned into biogas. This factory is the first of three that are currently under development.
Pioneering Synthica’s technological and operational approach, the Cincinnati facility was developed as a joint venture alongside UGI Energy Services, LLC. It can
process up to 190,000 tons of food waste every year and is the very first of its kind. As Weidman enthuses: “The launch of operations at our St. Bernard facility in Cincinnati was a major milestone for the business.”
“There’s no other facility operating at the same level. It’s the first fully operational Synthica platform and has been in continuous development for seven years. After two years of construction, watching it be built brick by brick and tank by tank, we are tremendously excited to see it processing feedstock and begin injecting gas into the pipeline.”
Looking ahead, the company plans to expand its reach with two more factories, both of which are being exclusively developed by Synthica. Schutte talks through their progress so far: “We have finished designing new facilities which will be based in San Antonio, Texas and Rome, Georgia, and broke ground on these plants in the fall of 2024.
“The Texas and Georgia plants offer a similar set of services, such as digestion of bulk liquids, bulk solids, and packaged products coming out of warehouses, distribution centers, or cold storage. When complete, these units will be slightly larger than the Cincinnati facility, with greater production capacity.”
The coming years hold a lot of promise for Synthica Energy. The company will continue working toward its goal of opening additional facilities and building a nationwide network, while expanding its capabilities and pushing the boundaries of anaerobic digestion technology. As Mr. Schutte concludes: “In five years’ time, we hope to see Synthica with a fleet of facilities in a handful of major markets, all co-operating with each other to provide reliable, sustainable disposal services for organic goods.
“We also seek to become the leading producer of large volumes of food waste based renewable natural gas. When we succeed in this, Synthica will be the largest, developer, owner, and operator of food waste only digestion facilities in the nation.”