CANONSBURG – Four companies each walked away with winner’s checks for $25,000 at the 4th annual Shale Gas Innovation Contest Tuesday at Southpointe.
The winners were:
• Appalachian Drilling Services, Inc., Beech Creek: Provider of spill-proof, skid-mounted and rig-friendly waste storage units specifically built to withstand life on drilling rigs and mitigate the chances of any type of spill.
• EthosGen, Dallas, Luzerne County: Offering systems that convert waste heat to electricity through a unique piston-based Organic-Rankine Cycle scalable power solution available from 12kW to 250kW.
• Fairmont Brine Processing, Fairmont, W.Va.: Evaporation and crystallization process that fully treats wastewater, extracting reusable byproducts, and the ability to also formulate fracture stimulation fluids specifically to meet an operating company’s completion design.
• PixController Inc., Export: Offering a low-cost methane gas detection system that integrates a digital methane sensor with temperature and barometric pressure data, providing data access via a low-power battery operated wireless monitoring backbone, and ability to integrate optical or FLIR camera technology, full weather station and water quality monitoring to the system
“The 14 finalists once again showed the diversity of ideas being brought to the table by entrepreneurs and small companies in the region to help advance the shale energy play,” said Bill Hall, SGICC director noted in a news release.
Pix Controller CEO Bill Powers credited SGICC with helping to drive his company’s product development.
“The SGICC has been instrumental in accelerating the development of our gas-monitoring products,” he said. “Without the support and guidance of the SGICC and Ben Franklin, we might have missed our window of opportunity to present our solution to the shale gas industry. Entrepreneurs are fortunate to have these organizations in the state of Pennsylvania.”
This year, the contest once again included a winner from the state of West Virginia, thanks to a grant provided to the SGICC from the Benedum Foundation.
“Winning this award validates the industry’s necessity for an environmentally responsible alternative to deep-well injection,” said Brian Kalt, general manager. “Fairmont Brine Processing has executed another major step in the commercialization of our patented evaporation and crystallization process, and we are looking forward to developing new opportunities with E&P companies as they seek a long-term solution for the wastewater produced in the natural resource extraction process.”
Michael Makowski, manager of new technology initiatives at PPG Industries, a sponsor company and judge, praised the event for its ability to uncover creative new technologies that can positively impact the oil and gas industry.
“As a technology scout, there is no better opportunity to see high-caliber innovations on display at a single event focused on adding value to this important growth area,” he said.
The sponsors for this year’s contest included Ben Franklin Technology Partners and numerous companies working in the oil & gas sector.
The Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation and Commercialization Center supports and commercializes early-stage technologies that enhance responsible stewardship of the environment while properly utilizing natural gas as an energy asset.
Original Source: http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20150515/NEWS08/150519639
The winners were:
• Appalachian Drilling Services, Inc., Beech Creek: Provider of spill-proof, skid-mounted and rig-friendly waste storage units specifically built to withstand life on drilling rigs and mitigate the chances of any type of spill.
• EthosGen, Dallas, Luzerne County: Offering systems that convert waste heat to electricity through a unique piston-based Organic-Rankine Cycle scalable power solution available from 12kW to 250kW.
• Fairmont Brine Processing, Fairmont, W.Va.: Evaporation and crystallization process that fully treats wastewater, extracting reusable byproducts, and the ability to also formulate fracture stimulation fluids specifically to meet an operating company’s completion design.
• PixController Inc., Export: Offering a low-cost methane gas detection system that integrates a digital methane sensor with temperature and barometric pressure data, providing data access via a low-power battery operated wireless monitoring backbone, and ability to integrate optical or FLIR camera technology, full weather station and water quality monitoring to the system
“The 14 finalists once again showed the diversity of ideas being brought to the table by entrepreneurs and small companies in the region to help advance the shale energy play,” said Bill Hall, SGICC director noted in a news release.
Pix Controller CEO Bill Powers credited SGICC with helping to drive his company’s product development.
“The SGICC has been instrumental in accelerating the development of our gas-monitoring products,” he said. “Without the support and guidance of the SGICC and Ben Franklin, we might have missed our window of opportunity to present our solution to the shale gas industry. Entrepreneurs are fortunate to have these organizations in the state of Pennsylvania.”
This year, the contest once again included a winner from the state of West Virginia, thanks to a grant provided to the SGICC from the Benedum Foundation.
“Winning this award validates the industry’s necessity for an environmentally responsible alternative to deep-well injection,” said Brian Kalt, general manager. “Fairmont Brine Processing has executed another major step in the commercialization of our patented evaporation and crystallization process, and we are looking forward to developing new opportunities with E&P companies as they seek a long-term solution for the wastewater produced in the natural resource extraction process.”
Michael Makowski, manager of new technology initiatives at PPG Industries, a sponsor company and judge, praised the event for its ability to uncover creative new technologies that can positively impact the oil and gas industry.
“As a technology scout, there is no better opportunity to see high-caliber innovations on display at a single event focused on adding value to this important growth area,” he said.
The sponsors for this year’s contest included Ben Franklin Technology Partners and numerous companies working in the oil & gas sector.
The Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation and Commercialization Center supports and commercializes early-stage technologies that enhance responsible stewardship of the environment while properly utilizing natural gas as an energy asset.
Original Source: http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20150515/NEWS08/150519639
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