Renewable Disaster Relief

Power When It Matters Most

The Portable Biomass Box converts local organic waste into electricity, bringing sustainable power to disaster zones when fuel deliveries fail.

Learn How It Works
Portable Biomass Box cutaway rendering, latest design iteration
Design iterations

The Challenge

When Disaster Strikes, Power Disappears

Hurricanes, wildfires, and floods can take out power grids for days. Diesel generators are costly to deliver, difficult to scale, and fail when fuel lines break.

Medical Care Fails

Hospitals and clinics lose reliable power for life-saving equipment.

Water Stops Flowing

Pumps and purification systems shut down without electricity.

Communication Lost

Families and responders lose the ability to coordinate help.

Our Innovation

Sustainable Power from Local Resources

PBB turns abundant organic debris into steady electricity, eliminating the need for fuel convoys and keeping critical systems running in the hardest-hit zones.

Biomass-to-power process diagram
1

Fuel with local biomass

Wood chips, crop residue, and organic debris.

2

Thermal conversion

A controlled process converts biomass into energy.

3

Clean, stable power

AC/DC power for medical care, water systems, lighting, and phones.

Scale of the Challenge

  • EM-DAT (2024): 393 natural-hazard disasters
  • People affected: 167.2 million
  • Economic damage: about $242 billion
  • FEMA DRF: multi-billion-dollar scale
  • CRS (major disasters subaccount): projected $7.4 billion shortfall
  • Temporary budget authority: ~$20.261 billion made available to meet needs

Both PBB founders have been affected by natural disasters, so we understand the hardships people face and the uncertainty that comes with losing access to electricity.

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Thermal, electrical, and storage subsystem block diagram
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Prototype Components

Why PBB

Built for the Worst Conditions

Fuel Independent

No diesel dependency, only locally available organic material.

Rapid Deployment

Set up quickly to restore power within hours.

Stable Power Quality

Safe and reliable for medical-grade equipment.

Sustainable & Clean

Renewable energy that reduces emissions.

Our Impact

Powering Recovery, Saving Lives

By turning waste into power on site, PBB keeps essential services running while communities rebuild.

0

kWh of daily output per unit

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of people served per deployment

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diesel fuel required

Medical equipment
Water purification
Shelter & lighting
Communications
Portable Biomass Box providing power to a medical tent in a remote camp

Our Team

Driven by Personal Experience

Formed in our high school Entrepreneurship Club, we bonded over shared experiences with natural disasters and built PBB to help when power matters most.

Photo of Ettan

Ettan

Co-Founder

Leads business strategy and market analysis, driven to help communities impacted by natural disasters.

Photo of Matthew

Matthew

Co-Founder

Passionate about renewable energy and off-grid power systems, focused on rapid deployment design.

Our team formed in high school through the Entrepreneurship Club, where we bonded over shared experiences with natural disasters. Ettan’s family was directly affected by Hurricane Priscilla, while Matthew came from a town that suffered repeated flooding and infrastructure damage due to regular monsoons. We’d hang out after the club and talk about prevalent issues. When we found out that we were both affected by natural disasters, we created the Portable Biomass Box (PBB).

Interested in PBB?

Reach out to learn more about our innovation.

Email the Team