Arbsource (Phoenix) has been making great headway since participating in last year’s Cleantech Open accelerator and will be moving forward faster thanks to a FAST GRANT from the Arizona Commerce Authority.
The company is a spinout from Arizona State University and uses biotechnology to transform wastewater treatment from a costly energy liability into a valuable resource for the food and beverage industry.
Arbsource was a Cleantech Open Finalist in 2011. This Spring the company was awarded a $7500 FAST GRANT from the Arizona Commerce Authority. The Fast Grants, ranging from $5,000 to $7,500, are designed as seed investment for firms for specific tasks, such as marketing plans or technology reviews.
Arbsource uses biotechnology to transform wastewater treatment from a costly energy liability into a valuable resource for food and beverage companies. Breweries, dairies, potato snack makers, and many other food and beverage processors are burdened with tremendous costs managing their wastewater, often totaling six or seven figures every year in operations per facility. For half the cost, we match treatment performance and generate valuable byproducts with our patent-pending and exclusively licensed Arbcell bioreactor.
Innovations in the wastewater treatment market are populated by many large companies and fellow startups, but we possess the fastest treatment speed of all low-energy biotreatment technologies by an order of magnitude and create more versatile treatment byproducts.
“With the Arbcell, we set the combined standard for treatment efficiency and plant economics by using up to 70% less energy to meet the same water quality and treatment speed benchmarks as conventional aerobic treatment products” according to Arbsource. “The 99% pure hydrogen output is a versatile treatment byproduct that sells for upwards of 100x more than methane gas, a common competitor byproduct. Caustic soda extracted from the Arbcell is a ubiquitous commodity that is used for the production of many food and beverage products. Arbsource offers all these benefits with a payback period of two years for typical customers.”
Arbsource got its start from a group of students and faculty at Arizona State University with a vision of scaling and commercializing Microbial Electrolysis Cell (MEC) technology to upgrade status-quo biotreatment strategies. Since inception, our management team has worked diligently to recruit and solicit advice from industry professionals that extend beyond academia.
ASU remains a potent strategic partner by supporting further R & D and enhancing customer interest. The list of potential interested early adopters of the company’s Arbcell has grown to double digits.
Arbsource was named one of the top 12 clean water start-ups to watch in 2012 and they’ve obtained additional funding from grants and combined non-dilutive capital. Upon successful demonstration of the Arbcell at customer pilot sites, Arbsource will be raising a minimum $2 million in investment in 2013 to begin domestic sales.
Content from the teams at Arbsource and the CleanTech Open contributed to this post.
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