Algal Scientific to commercialize wastewater tech, pilots project in Cincinnati

Algal Scientific has come a long way since it won the first Clean Energy Prize in 2008. Then it was a handful of students from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University looking to commercialize their wastewater technology. Now the company is nearly a dozen strong with six figures' worth of seed capital, pilot projects and commercialization aspirations in less than a year.

Algal Scientific is developing a wastewater treatment system that uses algae to remove nutrients from contaminated water leaving the raw materials for biofuels. It has made the move to the Michigan Life Science & Innovation Center in Plymouth.

It is currently working on a pilot project at a Cincinnati-area landfill where it hopes to help shrink the facility's rapidly rising wastewater costs from $2.5 million back to $500,000.

"They are very interested in our technology," says Paul Horst, CEO of Algal Scientific. "We have built a mobile plant at demonstration scale. We have all the equipment on site and are looking to ramp it up."

The tech company plans to wrap up that pilot project this year and begin full commercial sales by 2012. It has raised nearly $400,000 in seed capital as well as a federal $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant. Together with the commercialization sales, this funding will spur Algal Scientific to expand its own staff by 50-100 percent (5-10 people) this year.

Source: Paul Horst, CEO of Algal Scientific
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Algal Scientific to commercialize wastewater tech, pilots project in Cincinnati

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