Shale gas is as old as the earth, but three high-tech innovations have won their companies $25,000 each in the 2013 Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation Competition.
“Innovation, research and technological advancements have been and continue to be the catalyst for shale gas development's sustained success,” said Kathryn Klaber, CEO of the Marcellus Shale Coalition in a statement. “Without forward-looing thinkers and companies willing to invest in new technologies, the natural gas revolution that we're witnessing today would not have been possible.”
The winners, chosen from more than 70 applicants, are:
Pyrochem Catalyst, New Brighton, which has developed a catalyst technology, known as “Reformer,” for converting natural gas and carbon dioxide to hydrogen-rich synthesis gas for use in fuel cells and processes for making chemicals and transportation fuels. The company is the early stages of commercializing its technology for its initial target markets — fuel cells and refining applications.
REV LNG in Ulysses is a full-service, distribution company for liquid natural gas (LNG) as an alternative to traditional diesel fuel. The company is one of the first in the U.S. to deploy small-scale, mobile liquefaction units that can be hooked up to existing gas pipelines to create LNG.
Atlantis Technologies in Richboro has developed a “Radial Deionization System,” which is 10 times the speed, 15 times the range and less than half the price of previous technologies that deionize wastewater from oil, gas and mining operations.
Sources: Bill Hall, Shale Gas Innovation and Commercialization Center; Jeffrey Harrison, Pyrochem Catalyst; David Kailbourne, REV LNG
Writer: Elise Vider
