Egyptian Cleantech Startup Collects Used Cooking Oil and Turns It Into Biodiesel

In the late 19th century, Rudolf Diesel designed the fuel engine named after him. When he demonstrated his engine at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, it was powered by peanut oil to prove that his invention could run on renewable, plant-based fuels rather than petroleum.

Diesel envisioned his engine as a tool for farmers who could grow their own fuel, making them less dependent on imported fossil fuels. However, the diesel engine would become closely tied to petroleum diesel, which was cheaper and more abundant at the time.

Global transportation emissions remain one of the toughest climate challenges. According to the International Energy Agency, transport contributes roughly 24% of global CO₂ emissions, largely from diesel and gasoline engines. Despite advances in electrification, heavy transport, shipping, and agriculture still rely heavily on fossil fuels.

Biodiesel, derived from renewable oils like waste cooking oil or vegetable oil, offers a pragmatic alternative. It burns cleaner and emits significantly less carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter. It offers a way to decarbonize existing fleets without scrapping the engines.

Biodiesel produced from used cooking oil or waste grease results in an 86% reduction in greenhouse gases compared to petroleum diesel, according to the United States Environmental Agency. Instead of treating used cooking oil as waste, it can be collected, refined, and reused as a clean energy source.

Tagaddod is a renewable energy startup based in Egypt. Founded in 2013, it originated as a project at the German University in Cairo, where the three co-founders collaborated to develop waste management solutions for vegetable oil. The company operates across Africa, Asia, and Europe, collecting and aggregating renewable cooking oils, acid oils, waste oils, and fats from households and businesses.

The word “tagaddod” is Arabic for renewal, underlying the company’s stated mission “to leverage data, technology, and logistics to support worldwide energy security and waste elimination.”

Only 10% of the 500,000 tons of cooking oil waste Egypt produces every year is properly collected and recycled. Tagaddod captures some of the waste and exports it as biodiesel feedstock for powering vehicles and industries.

While it was founded as a biodiesel plant, the company now focuses on collecting, aggregating, and transporting used cooking oil and renewable feedstock to biodiesel and hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) manufacturers. In 2024, it reached over 450,000 households and 5,000 businesses via its Green Pan service. Recently, it raised $26.3 million in Series A funding to expand its operations across the Middle East and Africa, marking one of the largest cleantech investments in the region this year.

The renewable feedstock industry competes with the food and chemical manufacturing industries, which affects the availability and pricing of biofuels. Tagaddod sidesteps the food vs. fuel debate by collecting used cooking oil that would be otherwise poured into landfills and waterways.

It supports recycling efforts while providing additional revenue for restaurants, households, and aggregators. Its digital collection system, particularly the Green Pan app, makes Taggadod one of the largest waste-to-energy digital ecosystems in the Middle East.

Across the globe, other projects are embracing a similar philosophy of turning waste into renewable energy. BioLite Africa in Kenya converts biomass waste into clean energy products like stoves and off-grid power systems, and Finnish company Neste leads in large-scale biodiesel production from used cooking oil and animal fats.