In the heart of Tunisia, between secular olive groves and rural villages, a young engineer found a brilliant way for transform olive oil waste into a renewable energy source. Is called Yassine Khelifiis 36 years old, and with his start-up Bioheat he managed to give new life to the olive sansadictated locally phytouraa by -product often ignored or poorly managed.
Created in 2022 in Sanhaja, near Tunis, Bioheat developed a machine capable of converting the sansa in combustible bricchettecompact cylinders that can be used for the domestic heating or professional. This innovation responds to a double need: on the one hand, reduce the energy dependence country from imported gas and oil (over 60% of the needs), on the other hand, enhance a material that would otherwise end up for pollute soils.
Every year Tunisia produces about 340,000 tons of olive oilgenerating double in terms of organic residues. Khelifi sensed the energy potential of the phytooura, a material that burns for a long time and produces low emissions of CO₂thanks to a humidity rate of less than 8%clearly lower than burning wood.
For four years he built the necessary machine for himself
The path was not easy: for four years built the necessary machine by itselfafter inventing an existing model on the European market. With recycled components And many experiments, he managed to develop an efficient process that today allows Bioheat to produce 600 tons of bricchette per yearexported for the 60% in France and Canadabut also used locally by restaurateurs, hoteliers And Schools in the colder regions of the North-West Tunisian.
In addition to the environmental benefits, there are the economic ones: the briquettes cost less than the wood, produce less smoke and, according to some users, even give a unique taste for dishes.
In a country hit by deforestation and climatic crisisKhelifi’s initiative shows how thecircular economy can generate work, innovation and sustainability. Despite the difficulties of access to funding, due to high banking rates, the engineer has obtained the support of the community and now aims to make Bioheat a central actor of the energy transition, not only in Tunisia, but in the world.
