From its origins in the floodplains of Cambodia, ATEC has evolved to produce a world-first IoT platform that connects Global South households to global carbon markets, with 100% accurate, data-driven technology.
2013–2015: The Problem and the Prototype
The milestone
Development and field testing of the world's first flood-proof household biodigester through a partnership between Engineers Without Borders Australia and Live & Learn Environmental Education.
The motivation
In the Tonlé Sap region of Cambodia, traditional brick biodigesters were failing because they could not handle seasonal floods and soil movement. The team spent three years co-designing a linear low-density polyethylene unit with local farmers to ensure technology was durable.
2016: The Vision for Scalable Impact
The milestone
ATEC is formally incorporated as a social enterprise.
The motivation
ATEC realised that traditional stove handouts were not sufficiently sustainable or scalable to reach the billions of people worldwide still cooking with wood. A venture-backed business model was established to ensure the level of quality and accountability required to drive structural change.
2018: Breaking the Affordability Barrier
The milestone
ATEC launches the world’s first Pay-As-You-Go-integrated biodigester.
The motivation
High-quality technology is often out of reach in the Global South due to upfront costs. By integrating mobile money and IoT sensors, ATEC allowed rural farmers to pay for their units in small installments using the money they were already saving on chemical fertilisers and fuel.
2020: The Move to IoT and eCook
The milestone
ATEC shifts focus toward electromagnetic induction eCook stoves equipped with global SIM cards and IoT sensors.
The motivation
ATEC identified a ‘leapfrog’ moment where grid electrification in the Global South was accelerating faster than gas infrastructure. Instead of fossil fuel gas, the team chose to expand into electric cooking, using IoT measurement capabilities to bring transparency to household energy usage.
2023-2024: Redefining Carbon Integrity With 100% dMRV
The milestone
- Landmark agreements with partners like ENGIE, plus US$3.75M Series A funding round, led by Schneider Electric Energy Access Asia and Spark+ Africa Fund
- The launch of ATEC’s Cook to Earn model
- Endorsement by UC Berkeley as a quality project
The motivation
ATEC identified that carbon markets were the financial engine required to fund clean cooking at a global scale. However, the existing market was hampered by risky estimations that eroded trust in carbon credits. ATEC solved the trust crisis with 100% digital Monitoring, Reporting and Verification technology, which tracks stove usage via IoT and ensures every ton of reduced emissions means a ton. At least 70% of revenue from the sale of premium carbon credits is returned as cash to the households that generated them via the innovative Cook to Earn program..
2025–present: Scaling the Global South
The milestone
- Successful funding round of US$15.5 million, co-led by Lightrock and TRIREC, with participation from Schneider Electric Energy Access Asia Fund
- Expansion across Africa and Asia, including projects in Nepal and Malawi.
The motivation
The funding round co-led by TRIREC and Lightrock will see 200,000 eCook stoves deployed over three years to transform up to 1 million lives and prevent millions of tons of greenhouse emissions. While expanding into new countries, ATEC is cementing its position as a global technology leader in clean cooking and advocating for higher quality standards in carbon credits. ATEC believes a digital model based on irrefutable data must replace the current reliance on analogue, developer-controlled assumptions. Ultimately, ATEC is bridging the gap between the Global South and global capital and empowering women to lead the world toward a decarbonised future.
