New Startups Selected To Participate In BREW Accelerator Programs

The Water Council announced the sixth round of winners for the BREW Accelerator and the third round of winners for the BREW Corporate Accelerator powered by A. O. Smith Corporation.

The BREW (Business – Research – Entrepreneurship – in Water) is the world’s leading freshwater seed accelerator with a focus on innovative startups that address global water challenges. Startups selected with commercialization potential are connected to funding, hands-on business training, space in Milwaukee’s Global Water Center, executive level mentors and corporate R&D resources.

“The BREW Accelerator program is a critical contributor to The Water Council’s economic impact,” said Steve Glynn, director of innovation at The Water Council. “The program fosters the next generation of water tech innovators and connects them with the resources they need to advance their ideas. I look forward to hosting these amazing entrepreneurs in Milwaukee and connecting them to BREW partners across the region and around the world.”

The following startups have been selected to participate in the BREW Accelerator program:

WATERSURPLUS – Illinois – A winner of the BREW Corporate Accelerator powered by A. O. Smith Corporation, the WATERSURPLUS team has developed and is currently pilot testing a bio-inspired, low-fouling coating that significantly improves RO membrane performance from hard-to-treat water.

Digested Organics – Michigan – Digested Organics designs and manufactures advanced filtration solutions for wastewater and food and beverage processing, including an ultrafiltration process that removes phosphorus and pathogens from manure.

Gen3Bio – Indiana – Gen3Bio proprietary technology extracts cellular content from algae produced by wastewater treatment technologies and creates specialty chemicals at a fraction of the cost of conventional methods.

Latitude Power – Illinois – Latitude Power has developed a micro-hydroelectric generator that converts lost energy into electricity.

P4 Infrastructure – Wisconsin – P4 Infrastructure combines civil, mechanical and electrical engineering in pursuit of technology-driven products creating connected and sustainable infrastructure.

Rapid Radicals Technology – Wisconsin – Rapid Radicals Technology (RRTech) developed an efficient and advanced wastewater treatment process for use during heavy precipitation events to eliminate sewer overflows and reduce untreated discharges into lakes and rivers.

“The BREW is first and foremost an important program for supporting Wisconsin startups developing novel water technology, but it also provides a platform for attracting promising startups from outside the area looking to establish new offices or headquarters in Wisconsin,” stated Aaron Hagar, vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. “The business relationships developed through this program are helping to create solutions to global problems and can only enhance the strength of the local industry and aid in the development of future opportunities we have yet to realize.”

The BREW and BREW Corporate Accelerator programs will begin on April 1st with BREW Week. During BREW Week, the selected winners will be joined by BREW alumni and other water technology entrepreneurs for various tours through the Milwaukee Water Hub and networking events with BREW coaches and The Water Council’s corporate partners. Interested media that would like to attend BREW Week events can contact Steve Glynn at sglynn@thewatercouncil.com.

Supporting partners of the BREW include GRAEF, Marquette University, Michael Best & Friedrich, Sage Water, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Institute for Water Business, WIPFLI, Gener8tor, The Commons, Scale Up Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

The BREW and BREW Corporate Accelerator applications were accepted from October 1 – November 30, 2018 on WaterTechHub.com.

About The Water Council
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA next to the world’s largest freshwater system and home to one of the most influential freshwater technology hubs in the world, The Water Council (TWC) is recognized as a global center for advancing water technologies and stewardship. At its heart, TWC is a non-profit, membership organization that connects, convenes and showcases the hub comprised of more than 238 water technology businesses and the diverse water leadership network of 200 members it is linked to from around the world. While TWC’s mission is centered on driving economic development, attracting and connecting world-class talent and supporting water-focused technology innovation, its larger goal is to help secure freshwater resources for the world by driving solutions to the numerous industries that need and use a large amount of water. For more information, visit www.thewatercouncil.com.

About A. O. Smith Corporation
A.O. Smith Corporation, with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader applying innovative technology and energy-efficient solutions to products manufactured and marketed worldwide. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of residential and commercial water heating equipment and boilers, as well as a manufacturer of water treatment and air purification products. For more information, visit www.aosmith.com.

About BREW Accelerator
The Water Council’s BREW (Business – Research – Entrepreneurship – in Water) is the world’s leading freshwater business seed accelerator. Designed to advance the commercialization of innovation-driven startups in the global water industry, the BREW connects early stage technology ventures with the resources they need to fast track the creation and deployment of real-world solutions to freshwater challenges. The BREW is a three and a half month program focused on startups with technological concepts that address a specific area such as nutrient runoff and other novel solutions. The curriculum uses customer discovery to lead participants through the process of refining their value proposition and understanding their future customers.

About BREW Corporate Accelerator
BREW Corporate is an expansion of the BREW Accelerator program developed by The Water Council (TWC). BREW Corporate offers participants the same framework, funding and access to resources as the BREW but with pre-existing interest and committed funding from a corporate partner. BREW Corporate is designed to solicit viable technical solutions for specific real-world challenges that have been identified and outlined by the funding corporation. The funding corporation, along with coaches and technical advisors, will help optimize each winners’ business model, speed up its technology’s commercialization and directly support the startup’s entry into the marketplace.

About WATERSURPLUS
Almost 30 years ago, WATERSURPLUS created a global marketplace where buyers and sellers could come together and generate value by reemploying surplus water treatment equipment. This unique effort not only saved landfill space, it unlocked capital for both buyers and sellers. Today, WATERSURPLUS continues to offer unique solutions to the water treatment industry. Investing heavily in subject-matter experts and R&D has resulted in the development of multiple patents and innovations. The capabilities of WATERSURPLUS have expanded beyond surplus equipment and supplies to include: engineering and design services, custom equipment, a diverse rental fleet, a complete line of pre-engineered filtration equipment and on-site services like remote monitoring and plant optimization. For more information, visit watersurplus.com.

About Digested Organics
Digested Organics is a Farmington Hills, Michigan based engineering company which specializes in the design, manufacturing, and deployment of advanced filtration solutions for agricultural and industrial wastewater as well as food and beverage processing. Our self-cleaning spiral brush screen, stainless steel ultrafiltration system, and combination of forward and reverse osmosis technologies allow us to help customers more cost effectively manage wastewater, reclaim clean water for reuse, and generate value-added co-products. For more information, visit www.digestedorganics.com.

About Gen3Bio
Headquartered in the Kurz Purdue Technical Center in Purdue University’s Purdue Research Park, West Lafayette, Indiana, Gen3Bio, Inc. is a startup, for-profit corporation focused on converting waste algae into specialty chemicals and soil and water biodegradable plastics. Gen3Bio uses a proprietary blend of enzymes to obtain cellular sugars, fats and proteins and from them, produces succinic acid, aquaculture fish food and other value-based products. Some of the net revenue generated from product sales will be returned to the algae generator or the wastewater treatment facility. Gen3Bio works with algae technology companies to provide better justification for implementation of their technology by wastewater treatment facilities to reduce nutrient discharges that lead to hazardous algae blooms and dead zones, by companies to remove carbon dioxide from air emissions, and by algae harvesters. Gen3Bio is on the web at www.gen3bio.com.

About Latitude Power
Latitude Power, LLC designs and manufactures micro-hydroelectric generators that recapture lost potential energy in water/fluid systems – such as in wastewater treatment plants, industrial processing plants, dams and open geothermal systems – converting that energy to usable electricity. At Latitude Power, the team shares a deep passion for solving problems that help people and the environment. Every unit installed puts money back into customers’ pockets and helps them to contribute to reducing global carbon emissions. This group of accomplished engineers, designers and business leaders have taken decades of combined experience developing cutting edge products for the aerospace industry and have coupled it with patented technology to deliver some of the most efficient, cost-effective, low-maintenance micro-hydroelectric generators available today. The company is headquartered in Rockford, Illinois, with an office at The Global Water Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About P4 Infrastructure
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, P4 Infrastructure’s core focus is sustainable and connected infrastructure. We are changing the civil engineering industry by creating products capable of connecting us with our built environment. Our niche is novel engineered systems and the internet of infrastructure. Our products mitigate risk to those who surety bond, insure, construct, operate and maintain infrastructure systems. Our products empower public agencies and private companies with greater efficiency in construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure assets. For more information, visit www.p4infrastructure.com.

About Rapid Radicals Technology
Rapid Radicals Technology, LLC (RRTech) was founded for the design and commercialization of an innovative high-rate wastewater treatment technology developed to address combined and sanitary sewer overflows for municipal sewerage districts. RRTech’s system achieves high-quality effluent in a fraction of the time needed for conventional wastewater treatment, providing end-of-pipe wet weather treatment within a small footprint. The technology has a range of municipal applications including at a wastewater treatment plant, at a remote sewer outfall location, or as a mobile unit for emergency or disaster relief situations. The company is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.rapidradicals.com.