Sean Dobbs
Founder
Mechanical engineer (BEng Hons, First Class) with a background in materials handling and practical engineering. Inventor of the ZEDE system.
Our heritage
Dobbs Family
Long Lineage of Practical Inventors
Peter William Dobbs, born in 1905 and the grandfather of our founder Sean Dobbs, was a blacksmith, farmer and inventor.
His legacy of craftsmanship, working with the land and innovation has deeply influenced our company and is in our DNA.
- Modified one of the first Ransomes horse-pulled ploughs with his own adaptation, enabling automatic turnover at the end of a furrow.
- Modified one of the first JCB backhoes in the late 1950s, cutting off the jib and realigning it to dig in line with the rear wheel, giving a much cleaner trench to lay water mains.
Peter William was a farmer first and foremost, who very much lived the motto ‘necessity is the mother of all invention’.
About
Agriculture refined, not removed.
We bring practical energy and nutrient management systems to agriculture.
We were buyers turned suppliers. When we couldn't find a pyrolysis system that would run on the abundant, low-value, less-than-ideal materials farms actually have, we built one. We used our extensive materials handling and conditioning expertise to solve the key challenges that were blocking the highly beneficial use of pyrolysis in this sector.
We combine this with a practical, methodical scientific approach. It is central to everything we do.
Agriculture isn't something to be got rid of. It is essential to all our futures, and it has unmatched potential to become the carbon capture and nutrient redistribution powerhouse we need to rebalance our ecosystem. To get there, we must fully define what is needed, then simply apply the right solution.
Testing, not guessing: side-by-side trials on biochar samples.
Closing the loop
Resource Unlocked
No net zero without net zero energy systems
ZEDE stands for Zero Emission Decentralised Energy. It produces heat on the farm and locks carbon into biochar, so the emissions from making energy are balanced by carbon removed.
Negative emission technology
Our core technology is classed as a negative emission technology: it removes carbon from the atmosphere and stores it in a stable form.
Cascade approach
Virgin wood is too valuable to burn directly. ZEDE uses low-value, troublesome feedstocks and realises value from them several times over.
Excess nutrients
Nutrient mismanagement is one of agriculture’s biggest problems. ZEDE turns surplus manure into a stable, sterile, carbon-rich product that can be moved and used where nutrients are needed.
Developed with farmers
Farmers have shaped ZEDE to be the solution they need, on their own sites and with their own material.
Farm security
Farming faces an uncertain future. On-farm heat, a saleable biochar and lower disposal costs help turn the financial tide.
Team
One Team
Michael Dobbs
R&D and Assembly Manager
Father of our founder. Has built and developed ZEDE from the very start, with decades of hands-on mechanical experience.
Rashi Dobbs
Financial Director
Over a decade of financial experience helping businesses organise for growth.
Brian Kelly
Senior Bioenergy Design Engineer
Experience in the design and build of pyrolysis and gasification systems, with a focus on materials handling and process.
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