We pride ourselves on being good stewards with every dollar our investors entrust with us. Making positive impacts for causes we believe in is our foundation at CoPeace; so we chose four focus areas from the Global Sustainable Development Goals to steer our decisions for selecting our holdings:

• Climate Crisis Solutions
• Cleantech Innovation
• Economic Equality
• Social Justice

Driven by our passion for Cleantech Innovation and the critical need to reduce negative impacts on our environment due to energy consumption, we chose AST — Advanced Sustainable Technologies — as a CoPeace holding.

What does AST do?

AST’s vision is to provide the safest and most cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solution for waste processing. Using proven plasma technologies, AST is developing a new-generation waste management facility model to operate turnkey, scalable plasma waste management facilities for corporate clients and governments.

AST uses plasma gasification, a thermal process, to break down hazardous waste. The process converts organic material into synthetic gas. This product is used as a raw gaseous or energetic liquid.

What kinds of materials does AST treat?

Materials that can be safely and effectively treated are coal, sludge, incinerator ash, medical waste, paper, cardboard, plastics, fiberglass insulation, asbestos, wood, glass, ceramics, rubber, tires, asphalt shingles, used roadway asphalt, plastic piping, and paints. The AST system can also handle steel beams, rebar, copper piping, steel, aluminum, copper wire, concrete, stone, and bricks.

What happens once those materials are broken down?

The plasma gasification process produces safe solid waste — called slag — that is used as an aggregate for concrete products. Additionally, the process can produce recyclable materials (depending on the nature of the waste stream). It also recycles and produces the gas that powers the plant.

What makes a plasma gasification plant more sustainable than an incineration plant?

In a word, emissions. Incineration technology burns waste to create energy. Plasma technology uses extreme heat to break down the waste to its molecular constituents, including hydrogen and carbon monoxide, the two building blocks of syngas. Syngas is cleaned up to a specification similar to natural gas. This is then burned in a gas turbine or reciprocating engine to make power. The emissions from a plasma treatment plant are substantially lower than the traditional waste-to-energy industry’s. Using this technology also diverts waste from landfills, where the potent greenhouse gas — methane — is formed.

Overall, this project represents a renewable and sustainable clean energy resource.

How are our funds making an impact?

CoPeace funds have allowed AST to move forward in developing and testing its solution for a specific hazardous waste which currently has no recycling solution other than burying it into the ground.

We’re proud to be making an impact in this cutting edge technology — and supporting a company that values renewable, sustainable, clean energy.

P.S. – I took a tour of a plasma test facility to try and understand it better. Check it out here.