FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2015
For further information:
Bill Hall/ Director
Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center
814-933-8203
billhall@psu.edu
$500,000 in Seed Grants Awarded by the Ben Franklin’s Shale Gas Innovation &
Commercialization Center to Advance Shale Energy Innovations
Innovation has been the cornerstone of the shale oil and natural gas revolution, and since its
inception in 2011, the Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center
(www.sgicc.org) has been helping small Pennsylvania companies create jobs by supporting their
efforts to launch innovative products and services in to that market. Leveraging a $500,000
grant provided by the PA Department of Community & Economic Development (PA DCED),
SGICC offered seed funding to 11 companies who collectively are working on 13
commercialization projects.
To date, the SGICC model has encompassed a two-fold approach:
 Identifying potential innovators through their annual Shale Gas Innovation Contest
 Providing financial assistance and support to accelerate the commercialization of the
products or services and their acceptance into the shale gas industry
While, Ben Franklin Technology Partners www.cnp.benfranklin.org, SGICC’s host organization,
has been investing in tech-startups and small manufacturers in a myriad of industries for more
than thirty years, SGICC focuses on accelerating ideas that advance the environmentally
responsible, safe exploration, extraction, and use of the shale energy resource.
Listed below are recipients of the SGICC grants:
 Compass Natural Gas – Awarded $50,000 for the design and permitting of a CNG
compression and loading station for its virtual pipeline network of truck-delivered CNG.
 EthosGen – Awarded $50,000 to support a demonstration project of an ORC
"CraftEngine" that converts waste heat to on-site renewable electricity at a Williams
compression location
 FyreRok Reservoir Services – Awarded $50,000 to develop/test a prototype, in concert
with Universal Well Services, of an on-site unit producing Hypochlorous Acid for use as
a biocide
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HalenHardy – Awarded $60,000 for validation testing of a “Mobile Air Shower” unit
for silica dust removal from worker clothing, and also to support the commercialization
of a series of products that promote safety at drill pad locations. A demonstration is
taking place on a Universal Well Services pad.
HydroRecovery/ Penn State – Awarded $25,000 to test a prototype unit offering a
novel method to treat frac/produced water and drilling muds, recovering purified water
KCF Technologies – Awarded $45,000 to demonstrate an early-warning failure
detection system on drilling/fracing and midstream applications, and to test a high
resolution video system to enhance vibration detection. Working with Universal Well
Services, Williams, Cabot, ShaleNet (PCT and WCCT), and Lackawanna Community
College
PIX Industries – Awarded $40,000 to demonstrate industrial grade self-contained,
(battery operated/wireless) methane gas sensor/monitoring systems that can detect
methane leaks/ migration while operating from remote locations
Sensor Networks – Awarded $50,000 for the development of a permanently installed
ultrasonic sensor platform to monitor and report (wirelessly) pipe integrity in areas under
attack by corrosion in pipelines and refineries. First demonstration to occur at a Phillips
66 refinery.
TekSolv – Awarded $40,000 to develop a gas-leak detection software solution that
provides analysis and alerts/alarms of potentially dangerous accumulations of natural gas
or NGLs during the drilling and fracturing process. Partnering with Antero Resources to
demonstrate the system.
TM Industrial Supply – Awarded $50,000 to re-design an already commercially
available large, high-pressure natural gas filtration and liquid removal enclosure used on
midstream pipelines to work in a horizontal configuration for ease of filter swap-out and
maintenance.
Well Control Technologies – Awarded $50,000 to provide multiple demonstrations of
the “Down Hole Liquid Level Controller” (DLLC) system that removes fluid buildup
automatically from wells, significantly improving production. Working with CONSOL
Energy to prove system in both natural gas and oil production.
Results to date from these projects have been exciting, with many companies employing the seed
grant funds to make impressive advances. The grants required all awardees to provide matching
funds and in total the $500,000 of seed funding was met with a match exceeding 6:1. This means
that the $500,000 invested resulted in projects valued at over $3,000,000. Additionally, even at
this early date direct investments of an additional $4,000,000 have been reported by one of the
grantees.
Two early awardees were KCF Technologies and Compass Natural Gas, both of which are
creating jobs and reporting significant progress with the assistance of SGICC. In 2012, KCF
began considering how to employ an early-warning system that would alert companies of
potential equipment failure during the drilling and well completion. KCF entered the 2012/2013
Shale Gas Innovation Contest and became one of the finalists. Encouraged by this initial
success, Jeremy Frank, KCF’s President, registered again for the following year’s Innovation
Contest and made an even stronger case for the potential impact they could have - not only with
drilling and pressure pumping equipment, but also with midstream equipment. Their low-cost,
wireless sensors allow them to cost-effectively monitor pumps, motors, and other equipment that
might typically go uninspected.
Frank commented, “We had developed core technology under grants from the Department of
Energy, and been deploying systems into other industrial applications, including paper, metals
and power, since 2012. Understanding the challenges of the shale gas industry took about a year
of hard work and some well-timed grants from DCED and SGICC. We are now firing on all
cylinders, especially in the Marcellus. Our SmartDiagnostics® system of 40-80 wireless sensors
yields a greater than 10 times return on investment to our customers, with major reductions in
safety-related incidents. Our analysts are in regular contact with engineers and operators in the
field, alerting them to undesirable mechanical conditions such as broken mounts, failed valves
and cavitation, and confirming that corrective action has solved the problem.”
KCF was chosen as a winner in the spring of 2014 in SGICC’s Third Annual Shale Gas
Innovation Contest and began to demonstrate their capabilities through some of the connections
they made with key industry players who served as sponsors or judges. The availability of
SGICC’s seed grants played a critical role, as these funds allowed KCF to offer free hardware
and a very low cost to companies who wanted to try the technology. Universal Well Services
stepped up – as did Williams – both agreeing to a demo, and as expected, the results proved that
KCF could provide the companies with invaluable information that allowed timely equipment
maintenance or swap-outs during critical activities. This has accelerated sales and job creation.
“This is exactly how we had envisioned the support from the center working. If we bring
together the people with the ideas and the leading innovative shale energy companies, and we
help seed the demonstration of the new product or service concepts, the outcomes are
impressive,” noted Bill Hall, the Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center Director.
SGICC acts as a conduit between the existing shale energy industry players, who act as sponsors
and judges for the competitions, and smaller startups who may have developed new/improved
products or services. An example of the SGICC network in action is the early-stage
correspondence between Compass Natural Gas and Little Pine Resources. Little Pine has been a
sponsor of the Shale Gas Innovation Contests since its inception. As a result of this relationship,
SGICC introduced Little Pine to Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP), who in turn, funded
an analysis of potential stranded gas utilization in areas with limited or no pipelines. The BFTPsponsored study provided an introductory bridge between Little Pine and Compass, resulting in a
worthwhile sharing of ideas.
Compass’ business model gets Pennsylvania gas to Pennsylvania customers. It provides the
incremental logistics of gas transport for the half of the state that lacks economic access to
Pennsylvania natural gas. Compass compresses gas extracted from Marcellus shale and delivers
it by truck to industrial, transport, agricultural, commercial, governmental, and other customers
in the region. In providing safe, reliable deliveries of clean-burning natural gas, Compass creates
an additional market for Pennsylvania gas and distributes energy savings to a variety of
Pennsylvania customers.
The SGICC provided a seed grant to Compass to assist with the engineering work and permitting
of the company’s first CNG compression/fill station that will come on line in the summer of
2015. Compass currently has nine employees with plans for continued growth throughout the
coming year and beyond.
“A feature of Marcellus shale gas is the proximity of such a large, clean energy source to a major
market,” says Hoon Won, CEO of Compass Natural Gas. “Hopefully Marcellus gas is a catalyst
for a renaissance of industry, innovation, and prosperity in Pennsylvania. Through the fostering
of entrepreneurship and the facilitation of early-stage risk taking on worthwhile ideas,
organizations like SGICC are critical to supporting a business eco-system of innovation in the
state.”
“We can’t thank the DCED enough for the funding they provided”, Hall noted. “We’ve put the
seed grant funds to use in opportunities that we are confident will produce significant job growth
for the companies and an excellent return on investment to the Commonwealth. Throughout the
coming year, the Center will be working with the companies who received the seed grants to
help fast track more of them to commercialization.”
On May 12th, 2015, the Fourth Annual Shale Gas Innovation Contest Award ceremony will take
place in Southpointe, PA, continuing the efforts of the SGICC to identify and support the next
generation of shale energy innovators.
About the SGICC
The Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation and Commercialization Center
(www.sgicc.org) supports and commercializes early-stage technologies that enhance responsible
stewardship of the environment while properly utilizing this energy asset.