Biogas plants and energy cooperatives

The Social Energy Initiative company originates from the Student Research Group of Bioeconomy at Warsaw University of Technology (WUT). Its goal is to accelerate a just energy transition in Poland. The initiative was created — and continues to be developed — by Jakub Fenert, a student at the Faculty of Environmental Engineering, and Natalia Sobolewska-Hektus and Julia Ługowska – graduates of the same faculty. These young researchers have ambitious plans — they want to establish the first biogas energy cooperative in Poland. 

The founders of the Social Energy Initiative focus on popularizing and supporting the implementation of two still little-known solutions in Poland: energy cooperatives and biogas-based energy generation. They see particular potential in combining these solutions — in the form of Poland’s first energy cooperative powered by biogas or biomethane. Their work is focused on rural communities and the transformation of the Polish countryside. They aim for the energy sector to recognize the potential of these areas and offer them solutions tailored to their needs.

Energy cooperatives are highly beneficial for their members (municipalities, businesses, individuals), as they provide energy independence and significant cost reductions. Community energy is also a driving force behind the development of renewable energy in Poland. Meanwhile, biogas plants enable the management of biological waste from agriculture, food processing, and wastewater treatment. They reduce the carbon footprint of food products, especially in the dairy and meat industries.

“Biogas is the only stable renewable energy source, meaning it's independent of weather and seasons. It can help balance Poland’s energy mix, partly replacing fossil fuels. Poland has enormous potential to produce biogas from waste, which consists of about 50–60% methane. This could cover up to half of the country’s annual natural gas demand, increasing our energy independence and lowering energy prices,” emphasizes Jakub Fenert from the Faculty of Environmental Engineering.

“Moreover, developing the biogas sector means lower greenhouse gas emissions, and in recent years, we’ve increasingly felt how necessary it is to fight climate change. An additional benefit is the by-product of biogas production — digestate, a natural fertilizer rich in valuable nutrients. Its use helps reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers, which are harmful to the environment and expensive. That translates into healthier and cheaper food for all of us.”

It all started with a student competition

The Social Energy Initiative team consists of three people. Eng. Jakub Fenert, currently a master’s student in Environmental Engineering at WUT, is president of the Student Research Group of Bioeconomy, from which the entire team originates. Eng. Natalia Sobolewska-Hektus is a graduate of the Bioeconomy programme at the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and is currently completing her master’s degree at the Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering at WUT. Eng. Julia Ługowska also graduated in Bioeconomy from the same faculty. So far, the Social Energy Initiative remains closely connected to the student group.

As Jakub Fenert recalls, in 2023, the team submitted their project to the Bio-Based Innovation Student Challenge Europe (BISC-E), organized by the Bio-Based Industries Consortium. The project focused on the challenges faced by rural communities. During the competition, the group’s academic supervisor was Prof. Monika Żubrowska-Sudoł from the Faculty of Environmental Engineering.

 “We wanted to direct our project toward rural areas struggling with many issues, such as: high air pollution from outdated heating systems, methane emissions from agriculture, problems managing agricultural waste, high carbon footprint of agricultural products, and also the overuse of synthetic fertilizers, high energy costs, and transportation exclusion. We concluded that a solution for local communities could be to build biogas plants that would receive substrates not from a single source but from many smaller farms and local businesses,” says Jakub Fenert, board member of the Social Energy Initiative. “The energy would then be distributed to residents through an energy cooperative. The savings generated this way could be used to purchase minibuses or electric vehicles, which would operate as public transport in areas where private operators find it unprofitable, or as car-sharing.”

The idea, called BioCommunity, was recognized during the BISC-E competition. The WUT representatives took first place in Poland and then — as the national representatives — made it into the top five in the European stage. The next step was participation in the Impactful Leaders acceleration program, where for several months the students worked on the business development of their project.

“Thanks to mentoring support, we were able to transform our vision into a specific, feasible business model. The jury awarded us a distinction and the opportunity to participate in the next program — the Company Growth Catalyst. Several more months of mentoring allowed us to establish a company in November 2024, which we named Social Energy Initiative Sp. z o.o.,” adds Fenert.

While working on the project, the creators noticed that legal and technical tools for such projects already exist in Poland. However, citizen-owned energy cooperatives, as well as biogas plants themselves, are still not widely used in the context of energy transition. That’s why the team is currently focusing on education and building partnerships with larger entities in both sectors. They also offer consulting services on energy cooperatives and biogas investments.

Biogas plant

At the early stages of the project, the researchers focused on interviews with rural communities, which resulted in two social surveys — one on the idea itself and another on general attitudes toward community energy. The findings from the second study were presented at Green Gas Poland 2024. In cooperation with the Mazovian Energy Agency, they also delivered a presentation on energy cooperatives for municipal eco-advisors during the Clean Air Forum 2025. The presentation was also given at Energy Week 2025, organized by the Student Energy Research Group at SGH.

At WUT, the team established a connection with Dr. Katarzyna Iwińska, a researcher at Łukasiewicz ITECH and Collegium Civitas, who lectures at the Faculty of Environmental Engineering in the Environmental Protection programme. Dr. Iwińska supports the initiative in refining their social research and planning implementation projects.

Researchers from WUT are also co-authors of the “National Survey of Photovoltaic Investments in Local Government Units”, conducted under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (KPO): Support for institutions implementing reforms and investments under REPowerEU. As part of the project, they collected and processed data on photovoltaic investments in all municipalities and counties in Poland. This year, they also became a supporting partner in the “Let’s Make Biogas” education campaign organized by Biomass Magazine.

Mission: education

An important component of the Social Energy Initiative’s activities is education. Team members visit primary schools across Poland, where they conduct lessons about biogas for the youngest students. They are also working to establish new partnerships with various organizations to implement educational campaigns and implementation projects. Their goal is to trigger the formation of energy cooperatives based on bio-waste energy.

“We see growing interest in biogas installations from municipalities and cooperatives whose members include local businesses. At this stage, we mainly support them substantively, as knowledge about biogas plants is still not widespread,” says Jakub Fenert. “We’ve also received positive feedback from schools participating in the ‘Let’s Make Biogas’ campaign. We plan to continue the lessons after the summer holidays. The key challenge is balancing our work for the Social Energy Initiative with studies and jobs. However, in implementing our ideas, we’ve encountered surprisingly few obstacles. We’re amazed at how much can be achieved simply by taking action and starting conversations. The most helpful support comes from industry professionals, and it’s important to reach out to people we don’t yet know, for example via LinkedIn. When we share a common mission, many people are eager to share their knowledge, support us, and collaborate to be more effective together. In the field of energy transition, there are many committed individuals, companies, and institutions in Poland.”