For nearly two decades, Kore Infrastructure has been refining a vision that began with a simple but pressing question: how can society turn waste into a reliable source of energy? Today, the company’s answer lies in a breakthrough approach that produces dispatchable renewable energy, power that can be switched on and off like traditional generation, but without the emissions or limitations of oil or intermittent renewables like solar and wind.
“We knew from the start that talking about solutions was not enough,” said Cornelius Shields, founder and CEO of Kore Infrastructure. “Practical action is what matters, and a practical energy solution only works if it’s economically viable.”
That principle guided Kore through 17 years of research and development. Early work explored wastewater solutions and hydrogen outputs, but Shields and his team eventually found their stride in organic landfill waste. The technology, known as pyrolysis, heats organic material in the absence of oxygen to unlock methane and carbon products. The process works without combustion, meaning there are no emissions, resulting in carbon-negative energy. Shields explained. “Our reactors reduce that timeline dramatically. It’s like compressing a million years into minutes.”
The result is the Modular Conversion Reactor (MCR), a closed-loop system that can take in organic waste from factories, farms, or landfills and convert it into renewable natural gas, electricity, and solid biocarbon. “In nature, there is no waste, inspiring our process,” said Shields. “Every output has a use, whether as fuel, electricity, fertilizer, or industrial material.”
Kore proved the technology at commercial scale in 2021 in Los Angeles, partnering with SoCalGas, the nation’s largest natural gas provider. Demonstrating the MCR could generate renewable gas in the strictest regulatory environment in the U.S., but also operate continuously as a reliable baseload power source. Unlike solar or wind, which depend on weather, Kore’s reactors can run efficiently as long as they are supplied with feedstock.
“This is what we mean by dispatchable renewable energy,” Shields said. “It’s not intermittent, it can carry a load while not relying on sunshine or wind, and it scales with the organic waste challenges and energy needs that industries and cities are already facing.”
The shift from prototype to deployment came with a key insight: instead of trucking organic waste to a facility, Kore could build reactors directly at the source. Landfills, in particular, became the company’s focus. “Landfills are a perfect fit,” said Shields. “They already receive massive amounts of organic waste, and they make money by extending the life of their sites. Our reactors slow down how quickly a landfill fills, while also creating energy and capturing carbon.”
The system produces electricity, which can be used on-site to power factories or sent to the grid, as well as biocarbon, a solid material with multiple applications. By locking up carbon in this form instead of releasing it as methane or COâ‚‚, the MCR helps industries achieve carbon-negative status while creating a marketable byproduct.
The company’s next commercial plant is already in development at a landfill outside Los Angeles, with completion targeted for spring 2026. Shields noted that the modular design means a reactor could be built in as little as six months once approvals are in place, dramatically faster than large-scale projects.
Scalability is central to Kore’s vision. A single reactor can produce a significant amount of energy daily. “We don’t need to solve everything at once,” he said. “Even modest adoption has a massive impact.”
As energy demand surges with the rise of AI data centers, electric vehicles, and decentralized manufacturing, Kore sees itself as an answer to both grid strain and organic waste. When installed in local landfills, operators can benefit from the energy output, increase the lifespan of the landfill, and assist in emerging organic diversion regulations. Utilities can diversify their portfolios with this dispatchable, renewable option.
“Our philosophy has always been about matching real-world problems with viable solutions,” said Shields. “This is not about subsidies or lofty promises. It’s about technology that stands on its own two feet, that creates value today, and that can scale to meet tomorrow’s energy challenges.”
After 17 years of perseverance, Kore Infrastructure has positioned itself as a viable clean energy startup. It is a company bringing industrial-strength innovation to a sector hungry for dependable alternatives, one reactor at a time.