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Dr. Martin Gross, President and a founder at Gross-Wen Technologies, joins ABO’s board of directors
The Algae Biomass Organization welcomes Gross-Wen Technologies (GWT), a next-generation wastewater treatment company that is commercializing the revolving algal biofilm treatment technology (RAB), as the group’s newest gold-level member. Dr. Martin Gross, President and co-founder of GWT, was also elected to ABO’s board of directors on January 16, 2020.
GWT’s wastewater treatment technology harnesses algae to sustainably capture nitrogen, phosphorus, and other pollutants from wastewater generated in municipal or industrial environments. In addition to clean water, the process produces high-value algal biomass for fertilizer and bioplastic applications. GWT’s first commercial deployments at two municipal utilities are expected to break ground in late 2020 and be operational in 2021. Also, the company has active fertilizer trials for turf-grass applications underway at Iowa State University.
“Algae is going to make a big impact on the sustainability and economics of the water treatment industry, and we are glad to be working more closely with ABO to accelerate the adoption of this technology,” said Gross. “ABO’s work across multiple markets will make it easier for us to coordinate operations in production, as well as with a wide range of product and market developers.”
During his role as president at GWT, Gross has raised over $5 million in equity investments, served as principal investigator on over $1 million in non-diluting Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant funding, established a robust patent portfolio, and helped orchestrate the first commercial sale of GWT’s core RAB technology.
Prior to founding GWT, Gross attained dual doctoral degrees from Iowa State University in the fields of Bioprocess Engineering and Food Science and Technology. Gross also serves as a professor of entrepreneurship at ISU.
“We are glad to have GWT as a gold member and to have Martin’s expertise on the board,” said Mark Allen, ABO’s Board Chairman and Vice President at Accelergy Corporation. “Water treatment and nutrient runoff is becoming a more urgent issue as global populations grow, and GWT is leading a new generation of sustainable technologies to meet the challenge.”
For more information about Gross-Wen Technologies, visit: https://algae.com/
