ASU startups to compete for $10K at Energize 2013 Summit

ASU startups Arbsource and Solar Stream Innovations have been selected as finalists in the Energize 2013 Emerging Venture Competition.

The companies will pitch to a panel of judges April 12 in Salt Lake City at Energize 2013, an invitation-only gathering of key regional stakeholders from all areas of the innovation ecosystem to help influence the growth of the sustainable, carbon-free energy economy in the Rocky Mountain West. The event is sponsored by the University of Utah’s Energy Commercialization Center.

The companies will compete with eight other finalists for a $10,000 cash prize to be awarded by the judges. In addition, a People’s Choice Award will be determined by online voting at http://www.eccutah.com/energize/competition-video-rating/.

Arbsource, founded in 2011 using microbial electrochemical cell technology developed at ASU, transforms wastewater treatment from a costly energy liability into a valuable resource for food and beverage companies with Arbsource’s patent- and license- pending ARBCell Bioreactor. The ARBCell Bioreactor system can cut the cost of wastewater treatment for many food and beverage manufacturing companies by 50 percent or more through reduced energy consumption and maintenance.

The Arbsource management team includes former ASU doctoral student Mark Sholin, founder and CEO; Lon Huber, vice president of finance; ASU alumnus Matthew Dion, lead design engineer; and ASU alumnus Prasad Shetty, process engineer.

Solar Stream Innovations was founded by ASU students Jeffrey Lee and Marcus Myers. The company sells packaged solar solutions to hotels, multifamily housing providers, elder care facilities and hospitals that want the renewable benefits of solar energy with a faster return on investment and back-up power generation. Unlike competing solar power technologies, Solar Stream uses primarily low-cost, mass-manufactured components to reduce installation and maintenance costs. Lee is the company’s CTO, while Myers serves as COO.

Both Arbsource and Solar Stream Innovations were launched with support from ASU’s Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative, a startup accelerator that provides funding, office space and mentorship to student entrepreneurs from all university disciplines.