HESCO Sustainable Energy harnesses energy from sludge

HESCO Sustainable Energy isn’t a head-turning, flashy, glamorous start-up. However, the Warren-based company has a lot of potential to cut out a huge chunk of energy costs for sewage treatment plants by harnessing the power of the sludge it’s trying to clean.The 4-year-old company recently received a patent for its technology that harnesses the energy produced by organic sludge in wastewater and food processing plants. That energy is then rerouted into the plant, accounting for anywhere from 50-70 percent of its energy needs. “It really depends on the scale of the facility,” says Kevin Livingston, president of HESCO Sustainable Energy.Livingston and his partner Glenn Hummel have both worked in the waste industry since college. In that time they developed the system that harnesses the energy from turning Class A solids into pathogen-free material.”We came up with an innovative way to solve a problem in our industry,” Livingston says. “We got excited about it.”For good reason. HESCO Sustainable Energy made its first hire earlier this summer and expects to add 5-10 more within three years; it projects 100 employees within 15 years. The company has tested its technology at a sewage plant in Delhi Township and expect to open a second system in Grandville by the end of the month.Source: Kevin Livingston, president of HESCO Sustainable EnergyWriter: Jon Zemke