Tunisian startup turns olive waste into clean energy

In a northern Tunisian olive grove, Yassine Khelifi’s small workshop hums as a big machine turns olive waste right into a beneficial power supply in a rustic closely reliant on imported gasoline.

Holding a handful of compacted olive residue—a thick paste left over from oil extraction—Khelifi stated, “This is what we need today. How can we turn something worthless into wealth?”

For generations, rural households in Tunisia have burned olive waste for cooking and heating, or used it as animal feed.

The Worldwide Olive Council estimated Tunisia would be the world’s third-largest olive oil producer in 2024-2025, with an anticipated yield of 340,000 tonnes.

The waste generated by the oil extraction is staggering.

Khelifi, an engineer who grew up in a household of farmers, based Bioheat in 2022 to deal with the difficulty. He recalled watching staff in olive mills use the olive residue as gasoline.

“I always wondered how this material could burn for so long without going out,” he stated. “That’s when I asked myself: ‘Why not turn it into energy?'”

Past revenue, Khelifi hopes his startup helps “reducing the use of firewood as the country faces deforestation and climate change.”

At his workshop, workers transport truckloads of olive waste, stacking it excessive earlier than feeding it into the processing machines.

The fabric is then compacted into cylindrical briquettes and left to dry for a month beneath the solar and in greenhouses earlier than its packaging and sale.

The soul of olives

Khelifi started growing his concept in 2018 after he traveled throughout Europe trying to find a machine to show the olive paste into long-burning gasoline.

Unable to seek out the fitting expertise, he returned to Tunisia and spent 4 years experimenting with numerous motors and mechanical elements.

By 2021, he had developed a machine that produced briquettes with simply 8% moisture.

He stated this quantity considerably reduces carbon emissions in comparison with firewood, which requires months of drying and infrequently retains greater than double the quantity of moisture.

Bioheat discovered a market amongst Tunisian eating places, guesthouses, and faculties in underdeveloped areas, the place winter temperatures at instances drop beneath freezing.

However the majority of its manufacturing—about 60%—is ready for exports to France and Canada, Khelifi stated.

The corporate now employs 10 individuals and is concentrating on manufacturing of 600 tonnes of briquettes in 2025, he added.

Selim Sahli, 40, who runs a guesthouse, stated he changed conventional firewood with Khelifi’s briquettes for heating and cooking.

“It’s an eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative,” he stated. “It’s clean, easy to use, and has reduced my heating costs by a third.”

Mohamed Harrar, the proprietor of a pizza store on the outskirts of Tunis, praised the briquettes for lowering smoke emissions, which he stated beforehand irritated his neighbors.

“Besides, this waste carries the soul of Tunisian olives and gives the pizza a special flavor,” he added.

‘Defend the setting’

Given Tunisia’s vital olive oil manufacturing, waste byproducts pose each a problem and a possibility.

Noureddine Nasr, an agricultural and rural growth professional, stated round 600,000 tonnes of olive waste is produced yearly.

“Harnessing this waste can protect the environment, create jobs, and generate wealth,” he stated.

Nasr believes repurposing olive waste might additionally assist alleviate Tunisia’s heavy dependence on imported gasoline.

The nation imports greater than 60% of its power wants, a reliance that widens its Trade deficit and strains authorities subsidies, in accordance with a 2023 World Financial institution report.

Gas and fuel shortages are frequent throughout winter, notably in Tunisia’s northwestern provinces, the place households wrestle to maintain heat.

Redirecting agricultural waste into various power sources might ease this burden.

But for entrepreneurs like Khelifi, launching a startup in Tunisia is fraught with challenges.

“The biggest hurdle was funding,” he stated, lamenting high-interest financial institution loans. “It felt like walking on a road full of potholes.”

However now his aim is “to go away my mark as a key participant in Tunisia’s transition to clean energy,” he added. “And hopefully, the world’s, too.”

© 2025 AFP