What if something discarded as waste can make a grand return as a glass of cleaning water and solve the electricity woes of a community? It sounds impossible, something straight out of science fiction, but such an invention exists, and believe it or not, it can process upto 14 tonnes of human sewage into electricity and drinking water everyday. In 2015, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation backed the development of the , a machine designed to tackle two pressing global challenges at once: inadequate sanitation and limited access to clean water and energy.




Created by , a Seattle-based engineering company led by inventor Peter Janicki, the system turns human sewage into useful resources rather than allowing it to pollute waterways. The process is surprisingly ingenious. The sewage is heated to separate water from dry waste. The latter is burnt to generate steam that powers the generator. The result? Clean water that is available for drinking and electricity, ready for use. In a video, the business tycoon was shown drinking a glass of clean water processed from human waste.



A Response To The Sanitation Crisis


Gates has talked about how big the global sanitation issue is, saying that billions of people still don't have access to good toilet facilities. If human waste isn't properly handled, it can pollute water sources, leading to big problems for both the environment and people's health. The Omniprocessor was created as a tech solution to this issue, trying to turn sewage into helpful resources rather than letting it turn into pollution.



Janicki Bioenergy Behind The Technology


The Omniprocessor was created by Janicki Bioenergy, which is an engineering company located in Seattle, Washington state. The project received support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was directed by engineer and inventor Peter Janicki. The technology brings together multiple functions in one place, including a steam-powered energy system, a high-temperature incinerator, and a water treatment process.



How Sewage Is Processed

A Business Insider article explained that sewage is first taken to the Omniprocessor, where it is heated up. This splits the material into water vapor and dry solid waste. The moisture is then filtered to make treated water.




The leftover dry sludge is put through very high heat. When you burn the material, it creates heat, and that heat turns into steam. The steam powers an engine that is linked to a generator, which helps the system create electricity that could be sent to the nearby community.



Water And Electricity From Waste


The technology is made to get back two key things from sewage: water and energy. The water that comes out during the heating process is cleaned, and the dry stuff left behind is used as fuel to make electricity. This method lets waste that would normally need to be thrown away be used as a resource to make important materials.




Waste Dive said the Omniprocessor prototype can turn human waste and sewage sludge into electricity and clean water that can be reused.



Processing Tonnes Of Sewage


The treatment process also leaves behind ash instead of untreated sewage. The ash that is left is not harmful and has nutrients like phosphorus and potassium, which means it can be used as a fertiliser.



Power Technology says the S100 Omniprocessor can handle about 12.3 cubic metres of sewage sludge when it's running at its highest capacity. This process can produce about 10,800 litres of clean drinking water and 150 kilowatts of electricity, showing that the system is made to get both water and energy from waste.



S200 Commercial Model


The bigger S200 model was made to help take care of much larger groups of people. It can hold the waste made by about 100,000 to 200,000 people each day. The system is able to generate up to 300 kilowatts of electricity. After using about 50 kilowatts to run its own equipment, the facility can send out a net of 250 kilowatts of power to the nearby area.




explained the bigger system in a post on GatesNotes, saying it's built to handle waste from a big population and keep extra electricity after the plant uses what it needs for itself.



Sedron Technologies Investment


The company that created the technology has gone through a big change in its business structure. In 2026, Ara Partners, a private-equity company that invests in reducing carbon emissions in industries, said they would put up to $500 million into Sedron Technologies, as reported by ESG Today. Sedron Technologies used to be called Janicki Bioenergy, which is the company that worked on creating the Omniprocessor.



Estimated Company Revenue

Growjo's latest data suggests that Sedron Technologies makes about $97 million each year.




In a 2015 post on LinkedIn, the billionaire proudly wrote how drainage water can turn into drinking water. He wrote, "The water tasted as good as any I’ve had out of a bottle. And having studied the engineering behind it, I would happily drink it every day. It’s that safe.”