Our Story
Habitat Energy was founded on a simple belief: farms deserve nutrient and energy solutions that are clean, affordable, and rooted in practical on-farm realities. Our work is driven by the conviction that organic waste can be transformed into real value—supporting farm profitability while reducing environmental impact.
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At the center of that mission is our founder & CEO, Dr. Shawn Freitas.
A Career Built at the Intersection of Waste, Energy, and Innovation
For more than 15 years, Shawn has developed and delivered large-scale energy, biofuels, and waste-to-value projects across the United States. His technical foundation spans petroleum production, thermochemical conversion, syngas and biogas systems, renewable natural gas (RNG), industrial decarbonization, and applied process chemistry. Few leaders blend hands-on engineering depth with strategic project leadership the way he does.
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Before launching Habitat, Shawn served as a Senior Project Manager at the U.S. Department of Energy, helping oversee the $6.3B Industrial Demonstrations Program—a national effort supporting decarbonization projects in steel, cement, and food & beverage manufacturing. Prior to DOE, he was Chief Technology Officer of CleanBay Renewables, where he led the design and development of innovative biorefineries, directed multiple major-scale biogas-to-RNG facilities, built and managed high-performance R&D teams, and advanced patented technologies for controlled-release fertilizers.
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Earlier in his career, Shawn contributed key engineering and process advancements at ThermoChem Recovery International, supporting the design, construction, and operation of the largest U.S. MSW-to-Fischer-Tropsch liquids facility before 2022 and providing technical expertise to the ~$800M Fulcrum Sierra BioFuels project.
His experience spans gas-to-liquids systems, syngas purification, emissions controls, environmental compliance, and national-level technical review for DOE BETO, EERE, ARPA-E, and AMO programs.
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Shawn holds a PhD in Wood Chemistry, Master’s degrees in Project Management and Environmental Engineering, and a B.S. in Biochemistry & Biophysics, with additional teaching and research roles at Oregon State University and the University of Alaska Anchorage.
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A Founder’s Commitment..
Shawn’s determination to bring Habitat to life reflects a simple truth: transforming agricultural waste into value is not hypothetical. It’s possible, it’s practical, and with the right systems, it can be profitable for farms of all sizes.
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His leadership continues to set the pace for Habitat’s progress as we move toward commercial deployment in 2026.
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The seeds of Habitat Energy were planted long before the company had a name.
Shawn grew up working on an aquaculture farm, where he saw firsthand the pressures farmers face—especially when it comes to inputs, yields, and razor-thin margins.
Throughout his scientific career, he remained focused on one persistent challenge: agriculture loses enormous value to nutrient waste, particularly nitrogen loss. In some systems, up to 50 tons of potential value simply disappears.
During his decade of R&D and pilot deployment—including facilities in Mississippi, Florida, New Brunswick, Oregon, and a specialized research center in Portland—Shawn became convinced that manure and on-farm organics held far greater potential than existing fertilizer systems allowed.
But he also learned a hard truth: premium controlled-release granules and high-carbon-credit products are too expensive for farmers to adopt at scale unless supported by external incentives. Real, widespread impact would require a new approach.
That insight became the foundation of Habitat Energy.
Building a New Path Forward
After leaving his previous leadership role, Shawn spent several years independently refining solutions to the fertilizer pollution and nitrous oxide challenge. He realized that meaningful change would come from local, distributed, affordable systems—not from trying to force premium technologies into an already strained agricultural economy.
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In late 2024, Shawn made the decision to fully commit. He self-funded Habitat Energy, to carry the company through its earliest milestones.
Throughout 2025 Shawn:
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Secured a 10-year demonstration site lease
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Began facility construction
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Advanced pilot partnerships
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Built early distributor and utility relationships
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Personally led all technical, strategic, and operational development
Shawn’s readiness to allocate his personal resources, endure substantial workloads, and directly oversee technical, operational, and strategic development demonstrates a profound commitment to Habitat’s mission and exemplifies a high degree of founder dedication. His demonstrated ability to achieve rapid advancement under constraints highlights the persistence, resilience, and execution capacity essential for advancing Habitat towards commercialization.
Why Habitat Energy Exists
Habitat Energy represents the culmination of Shawn’s career—combining decades of experience in waste-to-value systems, process engineering, project leadership, and applied science.
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Our vision is to build localized energy-nutrient hubs—small, greenhouse-based systems that convert manure and on-farm organics into affordable, irrigation-ready liquid fertilizers and clean energy for agricultural communities. We believe this distributed model can:
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Reduce nutrient waste
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Improve farm profitability
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Support soil and water health
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Strengthen local agricultural ecosystems
This work is not just technical—it is personal. It is rooted in Shawn’s upbringing, shaped by years of engineering and project deployment, and driven by a commitment to practical solutions that work for farmers, not the other way around.
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