A fertilizer startup co-founded by a Pitt alumnus won the 2022 TransTech Energy Evolving Energy Technology Showcase

Ecotone Renewables, a startup co-founded by Kyle Wyche (A&S ’19), won first place at the 2022 TransTech Energy Evolving Energy Technology Showcase.

Wyche, who is also the company’s COO, started the sustainable fertilizer company with Carnegie Mellon University alumnus Dylan Lew. Ecotone Renewables aims to make food and agriculture systems more accessible to local communities. The winning pitch on its Zero Emission Upcycling System (ZEUS) for turning food waste into fertilizer earned the startup $7,500.

The company’s anerobic digestion systems produce more than 7,000 kilowatt-hours of energy and more than 2,600 gallons of fertilizer each year. Emphasizing hyperlocal energy production, Ecotone Renewables collects the food waste it processes from collection events at its locations in the Swissvale and East Liberty neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, as well as through partnerships with local nonprofits and restaurants.