Food waste-focused impact technology company Divert announced a $1 billion infrastructure development agreement with energy infrastructure company Enbridge, aimed at supporting the development of wasted food to renewable natural gas (RNG) facilities across North America.

Alongside the development agreement, Divert also announced that it has raised $100 million in growth equity, including $80 million from Enbridge, and $20 million led by Ara Partners, who acquired Divert in 2021.

Founded in 2007, Divert creates advanced technologies and sustainable infrastructure to eliminate wasted food, including solutions to maximize the freshness of food, recover edible food to serve communities in need, and to convert wasted food into renewable energy.

According to Divert, wasted food contributes up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with the U.S. generating more than 100 million tons of wasted food annually.

Ryan Begin, CEO and co-founder of Divert, said:

“The infrastructure development agreement with Enbridge marks a major turning point in the battle against the wasted food crisis. For 16 years, Divert has been at the forefront of efforts to prevent wasted food nationwide and this new funding will serve as a catalyst to address this pervasive problem at scale.”

According to the company, the new agreement will accelerate its expansion of anaerobic digestion facilities to sustainably convert wasted food into clean renewable energy, with plans to scale its facilities to be within 100 miles of 80% of the U.S. population over the next eight years. Divert said that it is also considering new wasted food-to-RNG facilities in Canada.

RNG, or biomethane, is produced from organic waste, such as agricultural, industrial, and household wastes, and is chemically identical to fossil-based natural gas, enabling it to support the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors such as road transport and heavy industry, without needing to replace existing transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Divert said that the expansion has the potential to offset up to nearly 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Caitlin Tessin, Vice President Strategy & Market Innovation, Enbridge, said:

“Enbridge’s agreement with Divert represents a historic commitment from the company in advancing technologies and solutions that achieve a cleaner energy future. Divert has emerged as a leader in creatively managing wasted food and our partnership aligns with Enbridge’s priorities in pioneering RNG as an effective solution to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.”