Baneco Secures Climate Finance Backing for First At-Scale Banana Biomass Facility

Team Baneco

Aug 25

2 min read

Updated: Aug 27

Baneco has reached another important milestone on the road to commercial scale.

We’re delighted to announce that Catalytic Finance Foundation, on behalf of the Subnational Climate Fund (SCF), has committed funding to support the evaluation, refinement and scaling of the feedstock supply chain and operating model behind Baneco’s first at-scale banana biomass facility in Ecuador.

For Baneco, this is about turning one of Ecuador’s most abundant agricultural residues into a reliable industrial feedstock — and building the infrastructure needed to do it at scale.

As we finalise terms with our anchor off-taker, our focus is shifting from proving what is technically possible to ensuring we can consistently source, aggregate and deliver the significant monthly volumes of banana biomass required for commercial production.

Now we need the right expert to help us build it

As part of this next phase, we are launching an RFP for an experienced consultant or team to help design and validate the supply chain that will underpin our first commercial facility.

The work will go beyond a traditional biomass assessment. We want to develop a practical, investable and scalable operating model covering where our feedstock will come from, how it will be collected and aggregated, the machinery and infrastructure required, how it will reach our facility reliably each month, and what the supply chain will cost as we scale.

The engagement is expected to require approximately 30–35 person-days over three months.

The expertise we’re looking for

We are looking for a consultant or team with expertise spanning:

Agricultural biomass resource assessment and feedstock characterisation
GIS and spatial analysis
Agricultural engineering and mechanisation
Techno-economic and financial modelling for biomass and biorefinery projects
Feasibility studies for development finance institutions and private investors
Ecuadorian and Latin American agricultural supply chains

Spanish fluency is required.

Building the foundations for scale

Ecuador is one of the world’s most important banana-producing countries, generating substantial volumes of agricultural biomass alongside its banana industry.

Baneco’s ambition is to transform this underutilised resource into valuable, lower-impact industrial materials, creating new value from agricultural residues while building a circular supply chain that can ultimately be replicated across other banana-producing markets.

This project is an important part of making that ambition commercially scalable.