What is the problem you are trying to solve?
Every year, millions of tons of wasted cooking oil and “gutter oil” are illegally collected and reused as cooking oil, creating potential health risks. At the same time, Chinese people have faced serious health risks from deadly air pollution.
How does your idea help solve the problem?
Biofuel produced from cooking oil is interchangeable with diesel fuel, so there is no need for vehicles to convert engines to use it. My idea is to connect the source of waste oil, namely restaurant chains, with final users to build a circular economy loop. Each ton of biofuel produced from waste cooking oil can reduce greenhouse gases by 2.5 tons, and also reduce emissions of particulate matter, NOx and SOx from exhaust. This solution will also prevent dangerous waste cooking oil from being reused to cook food.
What inspired you to do this?
I used to work for SkyNRG, the world first bio-jet fuel provider. As the Asian business development manager, I used to ship a large volume of used cooking oil from Asia to the EU to produce biofuel. But in China, the waste cooking oil is illegally collected and reused for cooking. I want to implement this solution in my country to prevent this from happening and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Bio
Born and raised in southern China, Shutong studied and worked in the Netherlands from 2006-2015, and graduated from VU University Amsterdam with a Master’s of Environment & Energy Management. He previously worked in corporate social responsibility, and the electric vehicle, solar power and sustainable biofuel industries. After seeing the serious social and environmental issues caused by illegal use of waste oil in China, he moved back to China to found MotionECO with a mission to solve food safety and environmental problems. He has received numerous accolades for his work, including being named a fellow of Harvard SEED for social innovation, a 2017 Forbes China 30 under 30, a 2016 Winner of the Venture Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition, a 2016 SEE Foundation Green Entrepreneur, and an Aiyou Foundation Social Entrpreneur Partner.
