About us
Aloha Carbon is a innovative process and technology developed by Simonpietri Enterprises LLC – a Hawaii-based, woman-owned, sustainably-driven, small business providing renewable fuels and innovative solutions to waste management challenges.
Our approach is to focus on the future, aligning innovations in technology across supply chains, building systems that solve big problems- contributing to better business results and a better world.
We want to hear from you!
the Aloha Sustainable Materials Recycling and Fertilizer Facility environmental assessment was officialLY published september 23rd 2024 and is open for comments to october 22nd 2024.
Click below to review the Environmental assessment.
Review the SMRFF EA now
Feel free to send questions and comments for the environmental assessment to EA@alohasmrff.com.
Aloha sustainable Materials recycling & fertilizer Facility
What it is
The Aloha Sustainable Materials Recycling & Fertilizer Facility (SMRFF) is a waste recycling facility – under development in Kapolei, Hawaii – for local solid-organic wastes that are landfilled or currently present challenges. One such waste is construction and demolition (C&D) debris, which upon receipt would be sorted into recyclable and unrecyclable materials. Organic C&D waste components , such as lumber, cardboard, fabric and plastic film– will be converted to energy using a fluidized-bed gasification system, which will be used to help self-power the facility. Inorganic C&D waste, such as concrete and window glass, will be diverted for recycling into building materials. A separate waste stream, consisting of landscaping waste and greenwaste from invasive species eradication and wildfire prevention projects, will also be accepted and converted to energy. The ash from the wood and greenwaste gasification process, along with other local nutrient-containing wastes, will be formulated into organic and potash fertilizers for use in Hawaii. With this recycling, we estimate we can reduce the waste going to landfills on O’ahu by half, and are always looking for innovations to do even more.
Infographic of the Aloha SMRFF business model process.
Awards
Our continued work to develop sustainable waste management solutions have earned us some recognition from the local community. See more about the awards we’ve won as small innovate business!
News
READ
Simonpietri enterprises turns demolition and construction waste into Energy
The company’s Aloha Carbon brand… will make renewable fuel out of solid waste materials, such as treated and painted lumber that would normally go into a landfill. The energy salvaged can be turned into hydrogen, renewable gas and renewable jet fuel.
Oahu’s Construction Waste Could Become Food For Crops At A New Kapolei Facility
Joelle Simonpietri and her crew are clearing invasive flora, concrete detritus and derelict concrete – making machinery from a property in Kapolei that they hope will eventually close the loop on a significant portion of Oahu’s unrecycled waste.
Simonpietri Enterprises Awarded Federal Grant for Fertilizer Made from Fire-Prone Invasive Plants
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded Simonpietri Enterprises LLC a $206,500 grant to conduct research on producing organic fertilizer from locally-sourced green waste and wildfire-prone invasive plant biomass.
READ MORE HERE
New contract for engineering toward waste wood-to-electricity plant in Hawaii
EQTEC, a global technology innovator powering distributed, decarbonized, new energy infrastructure through its waste-to-value solutions for hydrogen, biofuels, and energy generation, is pleased to announce that it has signed a technical services agreement for engineering services with Simonpietri Enterprises LLC.
READ MORE HERE
Central pacific bank foundation announces new cohort for entrepreneurship program
The Central Pacific Bank Foundation recently announced the third cohort for its “Women Entrepreneurs by Rising Tide” program.
READ MORE HERE
Watch
Empowered hawaii: TOmorrow’s Tourism
Learn how Aloha Carbon is planning to reduce Hawaii’s landfilled waste while helping to pave the way for a more sustainable tourism industry in Hawaii. WATCH HERE or click on the video.
focused on local sustainability
Our mission is to do something better with waste than to dispose of it in landfills. The Aloha Carbon project was created to help Hawaii’s energy transition to climate-friendlier bioenergy options, by delivering waste management solutions that reduce dependency on fossil fuels. We are the recyclers of what cannot be recycled!
We focus on our biggest local needs, which have the least amounts of solutions: finding alternate uses for construction and demolition debris(C&D) and organic urban wastes, and converting them into green hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel.
DivertING waste from landfills
Company identity
What we do:
Waste Diversion
Similar to recycling, where materials are used in a new way, waste diversion makes use of materials away from landfills.
gasification
Gasification can also be used to process waste, but it is a chemical process instead of a combustion process. This difference allows for higher emission controls. Unlike incineration, there is potential for gasification to deliver negative Green house gas (GHG) emissions.
Carbon-Neutral Growth
Aloha Carbon is aiming to help airlines serving Hawaii meet their goals of carbon-neutral growth. This includes producing renewable fuel and carbon credits that meet the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) requirements to hold lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions at 2020 levels – including flights to and from Hawai`i.
What we do not do:
Throw away waste
A landfill should be the final stop for waste after all recycling options have been exhausted. When landfills are full, new sites need to be created, which can affect local communities.
incineration
Incineration is to burn something completely and reduce it to ashes. An incinerator is a device that directly “burns” feedstock, and is a form of processing waste. There are over 50 incinerators in the US.
carbon-Intensive growth
We aim to reduce carbon-intensive economic development by displacing fossil fuel, raw material imports, and greenhouse-gas intensive cement and building materials, with careful sorting and recycling of waste into locally sourced building materials and energy products.
Greenhouse gas comparison for hydrogen
MEET OUR TEAM
Joelle Simonpietri
President
Founder Joelle Simonpietri led the internal Innovation Team and renewable fuel manufacturing integration initiatives at Par Pacific Inc’s Hawaii petroleum refinery for over 2 years. Ms. Simonpietri was the investment lead for the Waste Management corporation (NYSE: WM) waste-to-energy, waste gasification, and value-added recycled product investments, and interim CEO for an algae aquaculture company. A Navy veteran, she was previously a Department of Defense (DOD) Science and Technology program manager for renewable fuels and gasification procurement programs. Through her work at DOD, she facilitated the scope of work, design basis, and initial Defense Production Act funding of Honeywell UOP’s Ecofining™ Renewable Diesel hydrotreating process and its first commercial plant, now the World Fuels Paramount renewable jet production plant in Los Angeles California. In her free time Joelle can be found hanging out with her kids and going for long swims and paddles in the bays around O’ahu.
Aaron Ellis
Director of Finance
Aaron brings financial management, planning, modeling, and accounting with fifteen years of experience in the sustainable agriculture and renewable energy sector. He has served as the Chief Financial Officer of the Kalona Brand cacao farm, Director of Lending at Feed the Hunger Fund, due diligence consultant for Kamehameha Schools, Director of Business Development at landscaping and agriculture firm Pono Pacific; and Financial Analyst at impact investment fund Ulupono Initiative.
Michael Turina
Senior Project Engineer
Mike is a licensed professional engineer in Hawaii with over 40 years’ experience designing and executing capital projects in the energy industry for the Par Pacific, Tesoro, and BHP companies. He was the lead project engineer at Par Hawaii Refinery for many major new units and upgrades since the 1990’s. Mike was the supervising engineer for the construction of the Distillate Hydrotreating (DHT) unit at Par Hawaii Refinery, as well as the subsequent conversion of that unit to process fats, oils, and greases into Sustainable Aviation Fuel. In his free time, Mike can be found playing bass guitar.
jody Allione
Director of Project Development
Jody has over 30 years of experience developing first-of-kind and commercial energy projects using solar, biomass, waste, and fossil fuel resources in Hawaii and the continental U.S. for AES Solar, Innergex, NextEra Energy Resources, UPC Solar, Recurrent Energy, Ulupono, and others. She was an Executive Committee member of the Hawaii Renewable Energy Alliance (HREA) for 10 years, where she helped develop the Feed-In and Community Based Renewable Energy tariffs.
Jennifer Chinen
Environmental Engineering Technician
Jennifer serves as the lead writer for the Environmental Assessment and other planning and permitting tasks for the Aloha Carbon and Aloha SMRFF waste gasification projects. She also assists with construction & demolition waste field observations and testing, feedstock processing, and the gasification of C&D waste and invasive plant biomass. graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. She interned with and now has been working full time for Simonpietri Enterprises LLC since March 2023 as the Environmental Engineering Technician.
Zachary Wadas
Mechanical Engineering Technician
Zachary is the lead for waste feedstock sampling, processing and characterization to aid in the design and development of the Aloha Sustainable Materials Recycling Facility as well as the Aloha Carbon gasification plant. He has been the research project manager for two of the company’s gasification trials on real world construction & demolition waste. Zak is the company’s longest-serving employee, starting as an intern to support Aloha Carbon development in August of 2020. He graduated from University of Hawaii at Manoa with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. In his free time Zak can be found refurbishing used cars.
Naomi Kukac
Communications & Community Outreach
Naomi serves as the lead for community engagement, outreach and education for the Aloha Carbon project. She graduated from the University of Hawaii at West Oahu where she obtained a BBA with a focus in management. She interned with Simonpietri Enterprises to support the Aloha Carbon project while in school and has worked full-time for the company since graduation. Naomi brings with her ten years of management experience in the healthcare and service industries and a diverse background as a pastry chef and crossfit coach.
Michael Wadas
Logistics Technician
Michael serves as the lead for equipment, landscaping, and logistics operations for Simonpietri Enterprises to support the site clearing for the Aloha SMRFF and Aloha Carbon projects. He graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a Master’s Degree in Marine Biology, and also holds a commercial vessel Mate’s license. In his free time Mike can be found captaining a sailing vessel ported in Waikiki.
Meet Our latest interns
Samantha Seligman
Sustainability Intern
Samantha graduated from UCLA with a BS in Biology and minor in Music History. She brings with her a diverse background from working Phase III cardiovascular research trials in Beverly Hills to being a cacao sommelier for Manoa Chocolate. She’s had an interest in sustainability since a young age, soldering solar cells together to create a homemade solar panel to power a flat iron. In her free time, she can be found selling artisanal bread at farmer’s markets, SCUBA diving, or riding her motorcycle.
Riley Cabanero
Sustainability Intern
Riley Cabanero is an electrical engineer specializing in electromagnetic physics, with an educational background from Ira A. Fulton. She is passionate about sustainability and dedicated to improving life on Oahu, by combining her technical expertise with creativity. In her free time, she develops innovative solutions through 3D printing and prototyping and constructing and training AI models for data analytics companies.
Previous Sustainability interns
Centrie Carter
Civil Engineering Intern
Centrie graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and her internship at Simonpietri Enterprises in 2023 and went on to work in civil service for the County of Hawai’i .
Hattachai Buttayotee
Civil Engineering Intern
Chai graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and his internship at Simonpietri Enterprises in 2023, and went on to work in civil service for the County of Honolulu.
Jayden Marshall
Environmental Sustainability Intern
Jayden graduated from Georgia Tech with a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science in 2023 and went on to work as an Environmental Sustainability Analyst at Steel Dynamics, Inc.
Our Advisors
Quinn Vittum
Executive Director
ReUse Hawai’i
miki’ala Lidstone
Executive Director
Ulu A’e Learning Center
Mahalo to our Partners
