Cryptocurrency funding announced for waste-to-energy facilities
UK-based company 4NEW has announced an Initial Coin Offering for ‘the world’s first’ waste-to-energy treatment facilities integrated on the blockchain network.
The new venture aims to tackle both the mounting surplus of waste, and a growing energy shortfall. By 2019, according to a statement from 4NEW, it is projected that all landfills in the UK will be at capacity. Meanwhile, in a decade’s time electricity demand is expected to outstrip supply by more than 40%.
4NEW has announced a scalable, four stage model which will involve waste collection, waste management, energy production and energy distribution.
The ICO financing campaign will see 4NEW sell a portion of its future services. In the future, it will then deliver energy converted from waste at a discounted valuation to the early adopters.
4NEW plans to build three waste-to-energy treatment facilities in 2018, which are projected to be operational by 2019. From 17 October the company is offering the chance to invest in the 4NEW coins, in return for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin or any fiat currency contributions.
Sites in Sheffield, Hertfordshire and Newcastle have been identified for the installation of the waste-to-energy facilities. The blockchain platforms will be built on top of the underlying treatment infrastructure covering the entire supply chain from collection of waste to generation of electricity to sale of energy units to the national grid in the United Kingdom.
4NEW claims in its statement that the waste recycling and waste to energy plant processing market is worth £100 billion annually.
A crypto-revolution in waste-to-energy funding?
“We are at the beginning of a revolution. A revolution that can, at no additional cost to the consumer, turn the tide on the impending energy crisis, further exacerbated by the plan to ban the sale of all non-electric cars by 2040, and a waste surplus that shows no sign of otherwise slowing down,” said Sandeep Golechha, CEO and co-founder of 4NEW.
“With our plan, we believe that economies of scale of unfathomable proportions can and will be unlocked. Not only do we stand to make a huge and scalable dent in one of the gravest social and environmental issues of our time, but we’re confident in the future of 4NEW Coins and the Smart Meter ecosystem we’re building. Our ICO is both socially and financially grounded.”
According to a statement from 4NEW, as the 4NEW coin increases in value to be similar to market rates for energy prices, consumers will be able to trade the coins in for their energy costs, or trade it through crypto currency exchanges.
