UCL School of Management

20 June 2025

EcoNomad Solutions wins the 2025 SustainTech Audience Choice Award

In partnership with Tecno International, UCL School of Management recently hosted the UCL SoM SustainTech Pitching Competition. Our finalists pitched their ground-breaking startup ideas to a panel of experts and competed for one of three prizes: Best Pitch, Best Idea, and Audience Choice Award. 

We would like to congratulate EcoNomad Solutions, who received the Audience Choice Award after impressing attendees with their startup that helps farmers and rural communities in generating power from waste. We caught up with Ilan Adler, the CEO of EcoNomad Solutions, to find out more and how it felt to win the award earlier this year.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT EcoNomad?

EcoNomad is a company dedicated to small-scale solutions for rural communities and farms, who wish to become more sustainable, empowered and resilient, by helping them generate power and fertilisers from their own waste, as well as recycle other naturally available resources, including rainwater.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE THIS start-up?

Many years ago, I started an NGO in Mexico, followed by a couple of social enterprises that were dedicated to developing these types of solutions. My main focus was the rural, off-grid and small-scale areas, which are usually neglected in the provision of basic services and environmental technologies.
 
I then moved to the UK to study a PhD at UCL, and noticed that the UK had a similar market gap to those in the developing world, with most smallhold farms were being ‘cut out’ from access to these solutions.
 
Most farmers in the UK and in mainland Europe do try to be more efficient and sustainable, but they generally don’t have the means to invest in large systems requiring a high CAPEX, which ultimately inspired us to go out and develop this suite of products. 

HOW DID YOU FIND THE SUSTAINTECH Pitching COMPETITION & how did it feel to win?

The SustainTech Pitching Competition was excellent and very well organised. It was very inspirational hearing the start-up ideas from the other teams, and winning the Audience Choice Award was truly an honour, given that it wasn’t just a panel of experts making the decision, but the audience itself.

WHERE DO YOU SEE ECONOMAD SOLUTIONS IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS?

We hope to continue to grow and expand all over the UK and Europe, as well as become prominent in other regions such as Africa, where we have already started some projects. 

I do see ourselves becoming a leading company for small-scale waste to energy solutions, and other Greentech in this region, with a particular focus on colder and temperate climates. 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

We have already installed 15 BioNomad (TM) systems, and raised funds through a wide number of grants and pre-seed investment.

We are now aiming for another fundraiser (seed round) to expand our operations and scale. We would like to reach at least 100 installations within the next couple of years, as well as continuing to develop new IP and improve our product design.

Any final words?

An Indian spiritual teacher once said: ‘rather than thinking before you jump, it’s best to jump and then think.’ I am great believer in this saying, especially when it comes to enterprise or starting new ventures and it is essentially unknown territory, it’s best to just go for it!

Learn along the way, rather than spending ages thinking and calculating before you do anything. Starting a new business is a bit like bungee jumping, it is absolutely terrifying, so it is best to close your eyes and go for the ride, see where the journey takes you.

Last updated Friday, 11 July 2025