MaxWest explains that it will apply the funding to implement its proprietary MaxWest Gasification System at new facilities, as well as to bolster the company’s successful sales and marketing efforts. “We welcome Invesco’s investment as a mechanism to rapidly expand MaxWest technology in North America as well as in European and Asian markets. Currently, MaxWest is shortlisted for green energy projects in California, Michigan and Maine, with more international projects in the pipeline,” says Ross M. Patten, chief executive officer of MaxWest Environmental Systems and a veteran of the wastewater treatment and waste disposal industry.
Clean energy from sewage sludge
MaxWest’s first, commercial-scale facility — in Sanford, Florida — offers a safe, cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to incineration, landfill or land application of biosolids. The technology captures the energy contained in biosolids and recycles it for use on-site, while reducing the inlet volume by over 90 per cent. The novel MaxWest Gasification System can decrease operating costs and minimise or eliminate traditional greenhouse gas emissions sources, while converting sewage sludge into a sustainable, thermal energy to displace fossil fuels.
Invesco joins previous investor Leaf Clean Energy Company (“Leaf”), a renewable energy and sustainable technology investment firm, which invested in MaxWest in 2008. Since that time, Leaf has supported MaxWest’s development, providing strategic guidance during the evolution of the technology and the team. Leaf is continuing its support through an additional investment in the Company’s equity and will remain one of the largest shareholders in MaxWest.
MaxWest developed the proprietary MaxWest Gasification System over several years of technology investment and research. The disposal of biosolids is a growing burden on communities due to stricter permitting requirements, increased landfill tip fees, volatile energy prices, and high transportation costs — all of which create cost uncertainty.
“The MaxWest Gasification System is a game-changing technology that can compete on price with existing disposal methods. For example, the City of Sanford estimates that it will save millions of dollars in operating costs over the next 20 years by utilizing the MaxWest Gasification System,” estimates the company.
Biosolids management represents a substantial market, estimated at up to $2.7 billion annually in the US and offering an even greater international market opportunity.
MaxWest wins prestigious award
Last month, MaxWest Environmental Systems, Inc. was chosen by The Artemis Project as a Top 50 Water Companies Competition winner in an international competition that identifies and honours game-changing technologies in the water industry.
The company won the award for the proprietary renewable power technology described earlier in this article, which provides a sustainable solution by recycling water and energy, rather than disposing of those critical resources.
"The Artemis Top 50 is the water industry’s benchmark for recognising innovation that will matter. It identifies the entrepreneurs that are applying technology to meet the world's water challenges,” noted Laura Shenkar, principal at The Artemis Project. “Water tech is quickly becoming an engine for economic development and job growth. With these awards, we strive to identify the companies offering the most promising technologies coming onto the market.”
“We're honoured to accept this award on behalf of our entire team including our municipal customers, engineering firms and investors, since it takes trust from these kind of partnerships to deploy a new technology that will make MaxWest successful in the US and international markets," said Ross M. Patten, MaxWest CEO. "Currently, we are working in many areas of the globe to develop projects that reclaim energy from biosolids with our goal to be the most reliable company in the biosolids to energy space.
Lux Research recently completed a report looking at innovative technologies, and found that wastewater treatment residuals has long been narrowly viewed as an expensive nuisance, fit only for treatment and disposal like any solid waste materials. Utilities like wastewater treatment plants, however, have increasingly begun to explore technologies designed to help extract energy and other valuable products from wastewater sludge. As these technologies mature, the market opportunity for resource recovery will grow from $25 billion today to $45 billion in 2020, according to a recently released Lux Research report titled “Technologies Turn Waste into Profit".
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