UK waste-to-energy start up wins $25m of funding from US private equity firm eight days after its launch

UK-based waste-to-energy start-up 4NEW has won a $25 million (€21m) investment from a major US private equity company just eight days after the company's launch.

The investment will be used to fund the purchase of 4NEW's first waste-to-energy site in the UK, which is expected to cost about £60m in total.

According to 4 NEW, these funds will be allocated towards the purchase of 4NEW’s first plant site and equipment installation costs. With fundraising efforts primarily focused at institutional investors within the “presale round”, 4NEW is observing significant interest and steady mobilisation of fiat currencies into cryptocurrencies.

Furthermore, with adequate capitalisation attained to launch the first site, 4NEW is now opening its remainder of the presale round to the general public.

According to the company, in the midst of a volatile ICO market often plagued by fraud and illegitimacy, 4NEW has been able to demonstrate to its institutional investors a unique framework of self-governance in addition to government regulations and processes imposed upon the waste and energy industries collectively.

“With a global plan to scale this localised solution addressing the waste surplus and the energy shortfall crisis, 4NEW will not only revolutionise the blockchain network but also standardize digital assets as a means to transact business within a conventional setting making 4NEW the global utility token,” said the CEO Sandeep Golechha.

Although, 4NEW intends to scale operations globally, the initial launch will occur in the UK. The UK’s waste management industry has a total annual turnover of $11 billion with approximately 200 million tonnes of waste processed per year.

There are approximately 70,000 people employed in the sector across 3,000 companies. This market sector is under developed as technological advancements seen in other industries have been held back or are slow to materialise. The size of the UK waste market alone is over $120 billion annually.

The UK is also facing an unprecedented “energy gap” in a decade’s time, according to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). With demand for electricity likely to outstrip supply by more than 40%, widespread blackouts are within the realm of possibility.