Innovators in Methane Capture and Organic Waste Use Honored with Energy Vision Awards

NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Last week, the non-profit Energy Vision presented Leadership Awards to innovators in the biogas industry and related fields who are advancing food rescue, beneficial uses of organic waste, and methane emissions reduction. The winners are:

• Divert, Inc. , a U.S. circular economy company whose nationwide infrastructure and innovative technologies rescue and distribute edible food and convert food "waste" to renewable natural gas (RNG) and organic fertilizer.
   
• Cummins, Inc. makers of the X15N™, the first 15-liter compressed natural gas engine, designed to perform across a range of heavy-duty and long-haul trucking applications, which can be powered with RNG.
   
• FedEx Freight, one of the largest national logistics providers, which is buying trucks equipped with the X15N™ for use in its fleets and fueling them with RNG.
   
• EnviTec Biogas AG, a German-based global leader in the design, construction and operation of anaerobic digesters and gas upgrading equipment.
   
• Durwood Zaelke, founder/president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, a leading advocate for a binding global agreement to cut methane emissions to slow near-term global temperature rise.

"We're getting close to working with 8,000 food retail stores, large food manufacturers, and distributors around the country," said Chris Thomas, Divert VP of Public Affairs. Divert's partners include Kroger, Albertsons, CVS, Blue Diamond Growers, United States Cold Storage and more. It has so far facilitated food donation equivalent to 14 million meals, and processed 3.3 billion pounds of non-donatable food. It plans to build 30 plants so they're within 100 miles of 80% of the US population.

Cummins introduced its powerful 15-liter X15N™ natural gas engine last year. "[It] meets fleet operators' needs for power, torque, range, sustainability and reliability in the heavy-duty market," said David King, Cummins' North American On-Highway Product Manager for Natural & Renewable Gas Engines. "[X15N™ trucks] can slip seamlessly into fleet operations with no compromises on performance."

"Our longtime strategy at FedEx has been 'right truck, right route, right fuel,'" said Joe Oleson, Managing Director of Fleet Maintenance, Support & Equipment for FedEx Freight. "The X15N™ promises to deliver all three."

EnviTec has built more than 800 anaerobic digester and gas upgrader systems worldwide and owns/operates 91 of them, including some of the world's most advanced. "Our flagship BioEnergie Park in Güstrow, Germany captures methane and makes RNG, and ultimately transforms agricultural residues into Bio-LNG, food-grade liquid CO2, and high-quality fertilizer," said Lars von Lehmden, Managing Partner, EnviTec Biogas AG. "It demonstrates the full value chain at a single site and shows what circular economy looks like."

Each of these strategies deeply cuts methane emissions, which Durwood Zaelke, founder and president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, called "The fastest way to turn down near-term warming. It's the key to keeping the planet safe, at least in the near term. We have many promises and pledges, but it's time to move to mandatory [methane] mitigation measures."

www.energy-vision.org

Contact: Stephen Kent, [email protected], 914-589-5988

SOURCE NGO Energy Vision