New round of Accelerator winners announced at Water Summit 2016
June 15, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Meghan Jensen (414) 988-8754
MJensen@thewatercouncil.com

New Round of Accelerator Winners Announced at Water Summit 2016

MILWAUKEE, WI, June 15, 2016 – The Water Council and Guest of Honor Wisconsin Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch announced today the fourth round of winners of the BREW (Business Research Entrepreneurship in Wisconsin) Accelerator program during a special ceremony at the 9th annual Water Summit in Milwaukee.

The BREW Accelerator, launched in 2013, unleashes water innovation by funding water technology startups with commercialization potential, with the goal of launching each portfolio within 24 months. The first-of-its-kind accelerator pairs a unique water-focused startup community with credible resources of Milwaukee’s World Water Hub to help entrepreneurs from around the world accelerate results.

After a comprehensive application and judging process, six startups were chosen to participate in the fourth year of the accelerator program, they are:

• CORNCOB, Inc. (Wisconsin): Ludek Zapotek, Doug Hwang and Dick Davie
  • CORNCOB has invented a dynamic disc membrane filter that uses less energy, requires minimal pretreatment, and self-cleans during operation. 

• DMR International (Illinois): Rick Latella and Marc Carson
  • DMR has engineered the NOVEX-AMG™ family of additive systems that have demonstrated unique solutions for water filtration systems, with the added bonus of using environmentally responsible materials for a sustainable future. 

• Energy Tech Innovations (Wisconsin): Bryan Johnson
  • Energy Tech is developing a low-cost, water-based gas treatment method that will convert biogas into renewable natural gas, a greenhouse gas neutral fuel. 

• MetaMateria (Ohio): Tim Marth and Dr. Dick Schorr
  • MetaMateria efficiently cleans water using novel and nano-enhanced materials that creatively and economically address challenges in water purification, while also recovering phosphorous and other reusable contaminants.

• Smart Waters (British Columbia, Canada): Jamie Gordy and Rupert Whiting
  • Smart Waters increases City resilience by harvesting rainwater and holding it indefinitely in order to provide strategic reserves for all municipal water needs.

• WISRAN (California): Arsalan Lodhi and Arsala Khan
  • WISRAN provides real-time Business Intelligence Services for smart water grids to manage non-revenue water. The primary focus is on water-loss prediction by aggregating and federating sets of data collected from disparate data sources.
    

Two Honorable Mentions were recognized as well, including:

• Ark Labs (Alabama): Mack Cornwell and Robbie Hills
• HelioPure (France): Jean-marc L ‘Heuillier and Timothee Pasqualini
  

Each year, BREW winners receive up to a $50,000 equity investment, accelerator space in the Global Water Center, business training through the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Institute for Water Business, mentorship from water industry experts, investor guidance, and much more.

The BREW has worked with 20 water technology startups to date, and recently committed to launching 75 more over the next five years. Milwaukee, a City that brewed beer for decades, is now known for “brewing” water technology innovations that will have a substantial impact on the regional economy’s future.

The previous round of BREW startups also graduated during the ceremony, including entrepreneurs from the first-ever BREW Corporate Accelerator in partnership with Veolia. The second year of BREW Corporate Accelerator was announced yesterday in partnership with A. O. Smith Corporation. More information can be found at www.brewcorporate.com.  

About The Water Council
The Water Council was established in 2009 by Milwaukee-area businesses, education and government leaders. The nonprofit organization, consisting of more than 180 members, links together global water technology companies, innovative water entrepreneurs, acclaimed academic research programs and, most importantly, some of the nation’s brightest and most energetic water professionals. The Water Council is capturing the attention of the world and transforming the Milwaukee region into a World Water Hub for freshwater research, economic development and education. Visit www.thewatercouncil.com for more information.

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