U of M startup enVerde, based on technology developed by Paul Dauenhauer that turns organic waste into synthetic gas, is seeking seed capital to establish a demonstration plant.
EnVerde's technology would use waste as a feedstock: livestock manure, food manufacturing detritus, even plastic garbage. "Just about anything carbon-based can be used in the process," said Dauenhauer, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Minnesota.
Whatever the input, it would come at no cost since it's waste. "We really wanted to find something with a low-cost base, and we wanted to find something that would perform well environmentally," said [Dave] Goebel, who has provided "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to finance enVerde so far.
Read the full story in the Star Tribune.