Turning Food Waste into Fuel: Karl W. Feilder

Karl W. Feilder is the Founder and CEO of Neutral Fuels, a net zero biofuel company that turns used cooking oil into biofuel to power heavy duty vehicles like trucks and buses, thus creating a local closed loop ecosystem. He is also a keynote speaker at Green’s upcoming summit. Aside from being recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer, Karl holds an MBA, a B.Eng. (Hons) in Industrial Engineering and German language, and is writing a PhD thesis on “Psychological profiling of start-up teams”.

Karl W. Feilder – Neutral Fuels founder and CEO

Karl pioneered commercial biofuel production in the Middle East through Neutral Fuels, and today, it’s the largest group of cleantech fuel facilities in the GCC. These direct actions to mitigate climate change have resulted in over 12 million tonnes of CO2 savings.

Over the past five years, Karl has pioneered the use of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to optimise waste and fuel management, saving time and money for customers. Adding to the many accolades both Karl and Neutral Fuels have won, Neutral Fuels was recently awarded a place on the Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund Accelerator (MBRIFA) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Karl is now preparing the Neutral Fuels group of companies for an IPO on the London AIM stock market in 2024, and coaching other start-ups at Hult International Business School.

Let’s get to know Karl better. Karl, thank you for joining us today. What caused you to get into your industry?

“I’m not an environmentalist, I just want to save our species,” I always say. I feel this summarizes my inspiration to be in the green industry.

What trends are you seeing in your industry?

At Neutral Fuels we noticed that more companies are making bold new climate commitments. Many more are setting and meeting goals to invest in clean energy and transportation, and are driving environmental solutions within their own business operations and global supply chains. But there is a lot more that can be done.

Firstly, there is a 76 trillion opportunity for entrepreneurs to develop green technology solutions for businesses. We are also in an age of rapid technology innovation.

At Neutral Fuels, we created the world’s first closed loop, fully traceable used oil collection system cloud-based data portal and app. This provides a complete end-to-end traceability of quantity and quality of oil. We share this data via our web portal, and use it to improve efficiency and to optimize our supplier’s operating costs. We monitor our clients’ fuel usage so we can deliver biofuel to them, ensuring a constant supply.

Circular, closed-loop sustainable model – Neutral Fuels’ first customer in Dubai in 2012 was McDonald’s UAE which, to this day, fuels its entire logistics fleet on the biofuel made by Neutral Fuels from its own used vegetable oil. Local waste, made locally, for local fleets.

In 1992, the United Nations resolved that we were going to reduce greenhouse gases but 27 years later they had gone up by 40%. That strategy has failed. What we need to do is embrace innovative solutions for businesses. Neutral Fuels has proved this with one of the world’s biggest brands: McDonald’s, where we’ve managed to cover over 15 million kilometres on ZERO carbon footprint! Some tech giants, like Microsoft, are pledging to enter a carbon negative space by committing to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits by 2030.

I would like corporations and individuals to know that there are opportunities and technological advances at our fingertips for the businesses, and ultimately, the world to become net zero. Right here, right now. And that biofuel is a clean, green and brilliant solution – there are no changes to vehicle modifications required, no changes to fuel efficiency, no added expenses and engines perform better and last longer.

What is a fun fact about you?

When I am not busy being a greentech entrepreneur or attending conferences, I am the lead vocalist of a Dubai-based rock band called Sandstörm.

Where do you see your industry ten years from now?

Assuming more people are realising the impact of biofuels, the world has a shot at getting closer to a carbon neutral society.

Karl, thank you for being here today.

To know more about Karl and follow Neutral Fuels’ journey towards achieving a net zero carbon world, please visit www.karlwfeilder.com and www.neutralfuels.com.

Listen To Karl W. Feilder on The Green Podcast

Green.Org is a television show, podcast, social media, and news platform, hosted by Dylan Welch, that highlights climate change scientists, renewable energy experts, and clean tech entrepreneurs by giving them a voice in the mainstream media. The Green podcast highlights leading experts in cleantech, sustainability, media, finance, and real estate. Tune in and subscribe to the podcast on Apple or Spotify to listen to interviews with leading cleantech and sustainable experts. If you are interested in being featured on Green, click HERE.